New owners of the former Hickey Freeman manufacturing center on North Clinton Avenue are promising to invest millions of dollars to update the operation.
And New York state has promised the Tennessee-based buyer millions in return.
Word of the impending sale first was announced in June. Newly released details on Wednesday put the deal with clothier Tom James at $15 million. That includes the purchase price plus unspecified capital investment and promised upgrades. The state commitment is $7 million, to be paid out over the next five years as Tom James hits “targeted benchmarks” in both fulfilling that investment, retaining 200 existing factory jobs, and creating 45 more.
The financials were part of a joint announcement by Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, that Tom James had completed the acquisition.
“This agreement with the Tom James Company marks the start of a new chapter at the historic Hickey Freeman Building and will ensure that its legacy as an economic driver endures in Rochester,” Hochul said in a statement.
The Hickey Freeman line that started in Rochester more than a century ago is now made in Mexico. But the local plant produces – and will continue to make – the Rochester Tailored Clothing line.
Developer Home Leasing owns the property and is redeveloping much of it for senior housing. The manufacturing has been consolidated and should be fully relocated in the next month or so, taking up a third of the building.
