Eastman Business Park
A large industrial and manufacturing complex and neighborhood in Rochester, New York, developed from Eastman Kodak’s former Kodak Park.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Eastman Business Park is a large industrial and manufacturing complex in Rochester, New York, operated and developed by Eastman Kodak Company. Formerly known as Kodak Park, the site was created to support Kodak’s rapidly expanding photographic-film and motion-picture-film businesses. It lies approximately three miles north of downtown Rochester and about four miles south of Lake Ontario, extending broadly alongside New York State Route 104 and Mount Read Boulevard. The property also includes the Kodak Center, a performing-arts, conference, and events venue. The park grew during the decades after 1890 as Kodak expanded the scale and technical sophistication of its film manufacturing. At its height, Kodak Park was described as the world’s largest photographic-product manufacturing facility. The complex covered approximately 1,300 acres and contained more than 154 buildings, with a workforce exceeding 15,000 people. Its operations included manufacturing, chemical processing, utilities, research, warehousing, transportation, and other activities necessary to produce photographic and motion-picture materials at industrial scale. George Eastman, Kodak’s founder, is buried at the site. The decline of consumer demand for photographic film in the digital era changed the role of the complex. Eastman Kodak began reducing film-related production during the 2000s, and some underused buildings were demolished in 2007. On November 11, 2008, Kodak formally renamed the property Eastman Business Park and began marketing available land, buildings, utilities, and industrial capabilities to outside tenants. The repositioning sought to turn a company-centered manufacturing site into a multi-tenant business and technology campus. During Eastman Kodak’s 2012 bankruptcy, the company continued to dispose of selected assets in and around the park, including its coal-fired power plant and various buildings and parcels. At the same time, manufacturing facilities were made available to established companies and start-ups. The park’s redevelopment concept has emphasized advanced manufacturing, green technology, photonics, optics, materials science, and other businesses that could use its existing infrastructure and industrial services. Eastman Business Park retains substantial transportation and utility infrastructure. CSX serves the site through the Charlotte Running Track, while Norfolk Southern reaches it through the Rochester and Southern Railroad. An internal industrial railroad supports movement within the complex. The site was formerly connected to Rochester’s subway system through a surface connection on Dewey Avenue. Its scale, specialized facilities, and location have made it a continuing part of regional economic-development discussions. The property has also had a cultural and media role. Kodak Center provides performance and conference facilities, and portions of the complex have been used as filming locations, including for the 2019 automobile-racing reality series Hyperdrive. The park has additionally attracted public attention over historical industrial and security matters, including the disclosure in 2012 that uranium had been stored in an underground laboratory for research purposes. The material was reportedly used in work involving a californium neutron-flux multiplier and was considered weapons-grade, although the quantity was not sufficient to construct a weapon.
History
Eastman Business Park originated as Kodak Park, Eastman Kodak’s principal Rochester manufacturing complex. Its development followed the expansion of Kodak’s photographic business after the 1890s, when the company needed a large, integrated site for producing photographic film, motion-picture film, chemicals, and related materials. Over subsequent decades, Kodak built a broad industrial campus containing manufacturing buildings, laboratories, utilities, warehouses, offices, transportation facilities, and internal services. The complex became closely identified with Rochester’s industrial economy and with the city’s role in the global photography industry. At its peak, Kodak Park occupied roughly 1,300 acres and included more than 154 buildings. It employed over 15,000 people and was characterized as the largest photographic-product manufacturing facility in the world. The site’s scale reflected Kodak’s vertically integrated operating model: specialized materials and chemical processes, film coating and finishing, storage, maintenance, power generation, and transportation could all be coordinated within one controlled campus. George Eastman, Kodak’s founder, was buried at the property, reinforcing its importance within the company’s institutional history. The rise of digital photography and the resulting decline in demand for photographic film weakened the economic basis of Kodak Park. During the mid-2000s, Eastman Kodak reduced film production and downsized its Rochester operations. Some buildings that were no longer required were demolished in 2007. Rather than maintaining the entire site solely for Kodak’s own use, the company began seeking external occupants and new business models for the property. On November 11, 2008, Kodak Park was renamed Eastman Business Park. The new name communicated a deliberate shift from a single-company manufacturing plant toward a multi-tenant industrial and business campus. Kodak’s marketing effort promoted available buildings, land, utilities, transportation links, and technical infrastructure to manufacturing companies, entrepreneurs, and other users. The redevelopment strategy was intended to preserve employment and productive use at a site whose original film-centered mission was contracting. The transition accelerated during Eastman Kodak’s bankruptcy in 2012. Kodak sold or prepared to sell various large assets associated with the park, including its coal power plant and other land and buildings. At the same time, portions of the former Kodak manufacturing infrastructure were leased to established manufacturers and start-ups. The park’s proposed future increasingly centered on advanced manufacturing and innovation, with particular emphasis on green technology, photonics, optics, and materials science. State and local authorities treated the complex as an important element in efforts to support Rochester’s economic redevelopment. Transportation remains a defining feature of the site. CSX reaches the park through the Charlotte Running Track, and Norfolk Southern serves it through the Rochester and Southern Railroad. An internal rail system provides movement within the campus. The former Rochester Subway also served the area through a surface connection at Dewey Avenue. These links, together with the site’s utilities and existing industrial buildings, help distinguish the park from a conventional office or suburban commercial development. Eastman Business Park also includes Kodak Center, a performing-arts and conference facility, and parts of the property have been used for film and television production. The complex received public attention in 2012 after the disclosure of uranium storage in an underground laboratory. The uranium had reportedly been used for research involving a californium neutron-flux multiplier and was not present in sufficient quantity to create a weapon. This episode added a security and environmental dimension to the site’s industrial history, although the park’s broader identity remains tied to Kodak manufacturing and Rochester redevelopment. Today, Eastman Business Park is best understood as a legacy industrial campus in transition. It preserves physical and logistical assets created for twentieth-century photographic production while attempting to support a broader tenant base and newer technology-oriented industries. Its history illustrates both the scale of Kodak’s former manufacturing system and the challenges of repurposing major industrial properties after technological change and corporate restructuring.
- 2019
Filming location for Hyperdrive
[1]The industrial complex was used as a filming location for the automobile-racing reality competition series Hyperdrive.
- 2012
Asset sales during Kodak bankruptcy
[1]Eastman Kodak sold or began selling selected buildings, land, and major infrastructure assets as part of its bankruptcy-related downsizing.
- 2012
Uranium storage becomes public
[1]The existence of uranium stored in an underground research laboratory at the complex was publicly disclosed.
- 2008
Kodak Park becomes Eastman Business Park
[1]Eastman Kodak officially adopted the Eastman Business Park name and began an aggressive effort to attract outside tenants.
- 2007
Unused buildings demolished
[1]As Kodak reduced film manufacturing, some buildings that were no longer needed were demolished.
- 1890
Development begins in the Kodak Park era
[1]In the decades following 1890, Eastman Kodak developed the Rochester site to meet growing demand for photographic and motion-picture film products.
Products and positioning
A large, infrastructure-rich industrial campus repositioned from Kodak’s historic film-manufacturing center into a multi-tenant location for advanced manufacturing, technology, materials, and innovation-oriented businesses.
Industrial real estate
Industrial and manufacturing space
Eastman Business Park provides a large collection of existing industrial buildings and development areas intended for manufacturing, processing, warehousing, research, and related business activities. Much of the infrastructure originated in Kodak’s integrated film-production system and has been offered to outside tenants as Kodak reduced its own operations.
Industrial services
Industrial utilities and infrastructure
The campus retains infrastructure associated with a major manufacturing operation, including internal transportation facilities, rail access, utilities, and specialized industrial buildings. These assets support the park’s positioning as a location for companies that need more than conventional office or warehouse premises.
Performing arts and conference venue
Kodak Center
Kodak Center is a performing-arts and conference facility located within the broader Eastman Business Park complex. It gives the former manufacturing site a public cultural and events function in addition to its industrial and commercial uses.
Controversies
2012
Disclosure of uranium storage in an underground laboratory
It was disclosed that Kodak had stored uranium at an underground laboratory at the complex for almost thirty years. The material was used for research involving a californium neutron-flux multiplier. Although described as weapons-grade, the quantity was reportedly too small to construct a weapon.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Eastman Business Park tenant-attraction campaign
United States · Rochester, New York
Following the renaming of Kodak Park, Eastman Kodak launched an aggressive marketing effort to attract established manufacturers, start-ups, and other businesses to vacant buildings and available land.
Outcome. The campaign supported the conversion of the property from a Kodak-dominated production site into a multi-tenant industrial campus, although the available source does not quantify tenant growth or investment.
Brand decisions
2012
Sell selected park assets during Kodak restructuringOtherBackground
Eastman Kodak entered bankruptcy while continuing to downsize its traditional film business and reduce ownership of non-core assets.
Action taken
The company sold or began selling selected Eastman Business Park assets, including the coal power plant and various buildings and parcels.
Aftermath
Asset sales accelerated the separation of the park from Kodak’s former vertically integrated operating model and supported its redevelopment as a broader industrial campus.
2008
Reposition the former Kodak Park as a multi-tenant business parkStrategyBackground
The decline in demand for photographic film led Eastman Kodak to reduce its own manufacturing footprint and left parts of the historic Kodak Park underused.
Action taken
Kodak renamed the complex Eastman Business Park and marketed its buildings, land, utilities, and industrial capabilities to outside companies.
Aftermath
The property moved toward a multi-tenant model focused on manufacturing, technology, and innovation-oriented businesses rather than exclusively serving Kodak’s film operations.
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