Months after the planned ribbon cutting was derailed by COVID-19, Local 71 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers in Buffalo, New York, formally unveiled its newly expanded 19,000-square-foot training center.
“Sheet Metal Workers Local 71 committed to making the city of Buffalo our home in 2000,” said Paul Crist, Local 71 business manager. “Since then, we have worked, saved and planned for this expansion, so we can continue our mission of training the next generation of sheet metal workers.”
Local 71 purchased the vacant, two-story, 7,200-square-foot building next to its existing training center in 2014. The former manufacturing facility, which once housed Sweet Kleen Laundry, had deteriorated into a neighborhood eyesore after years of vacancy and neglect. With remediation and significant reconstruction needed on the structure, the local applied for and received an Empire State Development (ESD) grant of $377,000 from round seven of the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. This grant funding allotment — considered “guaranteed capital” — was enough for the union to secure a loan to finance a significant portion of the project.