43°11′56″N 77°37′52″W / 43.199°N 77.631°W / 43.199; -77.631

Eastman Business Park
Founded1890 (1890)
FounderGeorge Eastman
HeadquartersRochester, New York

Eastman Business Park, formerly Kodak Park, is a large manufacturing and industrial complex in the city of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The complex is run by Eastman Kodak and is located 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown Rochester and 4 miles (6 km) south of Lake Ontario. The complex runs parallel to New York State Route 104 and Mount Read Boulevard for most of its length. Also part of the complex is the Kodak Center performing arts center and conference facility.

Eastman Business Park is serviced by both CSX, via the Charlotte Running Track, and Norfolk Southern, via the Rochester and Southern Railroad. The plant also maintains an intra-plant railroad. It was formerly serviced by the Rochester Subway via the Dewey Avenue surface connection.

The ashes of Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman are buried here.

History

Aerial photograph
Memorial to George Eastman at Eastman Business Park. His ashes lie beneath the Georgia marble monument.

In the decades following 1890, Kodak Park was constructed to meet the massive demand of Eastman Kodak Company's photographic and motion picture film products. The park would eventually become the largest photographic product manufacturing facility in the world, employing over 15,000 employees in over 154 different buildings spanning its 1,300 acres.[1]

In the mid-2000s, Eastman Kodak began downsizing its film manufacturing operations due to the shrinking demand for film. A number of unused buildings[2] were demolished in 2007.[3]

On November 11, 2008, Eastman Kodak officially renamed Kodak Park "Eastman Business Park" and began an aggressive marketing campaign to attract new tenants to the park.[4]

During the bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak in 2012, Eastman Kodak began selling off a number of large assets in Eastman business park as it continued to downsize; this included its coal power plant,[5] as well numerous other land and building assets.[6]

The park has been used as a filming location for several television series and films, including the 2019 automobile racing reality competition series Hyperdrive.[7]

Controversy

In 2012 it was revealed that Kodak had stored uranium in an underground lab for almost 30 years.[8] The material was used for research in a Californium neutron flux multiplier. Although the uranium was considered weapons-grade, it was not present in large enough quantities to construct a weapon with.

Companies and institutions in or near the Eastman Business Park

As Eastman Kodak downsized, the manufacturing facilities were leased out to both established and start-up manufacturing companies. As of 2012 Members[9] of Eastman Business Park Include:

Future of Eastman Business Park

Eastman Business Park has been described as a vital part of Rochester, NY's economic growth efforts.[19] State and local governments and Eastman Kodak Company itself have been steadily working towards turning Eastman Business Park into an innovation hub which would attract large companies as well as small start up companies with a focus on green-tech, photonics, optics and material science to the park.[20]

See also

References

  1. "History of Kodak Park". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. "Kodak implodes Building 50". Shards of Photography. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  3. "The Demolition of Kodak Implosions of buildings... - 37 E 7TH ST – A blog from Princeton Architectural Press". 37 E 7TH ST. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. "TWC News - Rochester - Finger Lakes, Batavia". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. Kodak sells power plant in Eastman Business Park
  6. LiDestri buys Kodak Park South land
  7. "Netflix confirms it's behind 'Hyperdrive' car racing show being filmed at Eastman Business Park". Democrat & Chronicle. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. Dugald McConnell and Brian Todd, CNN (16 May 2012). "Kodak confirms it had weapons-grade uranium in underground lab". CNN. Retrieved 6 May 2016. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. "Eastman Business Park Current Members". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Eastman Business Park
  11. ALI TOUHEY. "Company approved to manufacture and dispense medical marijuana in". ROCHESTERFIRST. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. $23 million battery facility coming to Eastman Business Park
  13. "ESD Announces GreenLight Biosciences to Build Pilot Plant at Eastman Business Park | Empire State Development". 25 February 2020.
  14. "Kodak, Kingsbury Announce Agreement on Touch Screen Sensors". Archived from the original on 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  15. Kodak Bankruptcy officially ends
  16. New Company Locating at Eastman Business Park
  17. "Firm to create 100 jobs at Eastman Business Park - Rochester Business Journal New York business news and information". Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  18. "Eastman Business Park announces partnership with national laboratory". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  19. Finger Lakes 2012 Progress Report
  20. "Kodak: Transforming Eastman Business Park". Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
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