Making big news locally (Times Union | Saratogian) and around the country lately is the likelihood that chip manufacturer AMD, which competes with Intel, may be building a new multi-billion dollar factory not far south of Saratoga Springs. The factory would bring thousands of well-paying jobs to the area, along with thousands of supporting construction jobs and those that would come with other businesses that would spring up around the site, which spans the towns of Malta and Stillwater (Exit 12 off the Northway, just an exit or two south of Saratoga).
The news isn’t quite official yet — though it should be by tomorrow — but Gov. George Pataki has had some verbal sparring with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who’s been accused of leaking more details than he should have. There’s also a small possibility, it sounds like, that the plant will be constructed not at the Luther Forest (Malta/Stillwater) site, but in Marcy, NY, about 100 miles west of here.
I have a good feeling about the plant and think it will be great for the region — even though we still don’t have good public transportation along the Northway between here and Albany — and will continue to make Saratoga Springs be the place to be. That doesn’t suck for my property value, either. Even though it’s not likely, I hope that the surrounding businesses may actually be local or something other than yet another strip mall with Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
Bring it on, AMD!
ALBANY — Advanced Micro Devices may build two computer chip manufacturing plants at Luther Forest, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno revealed Tuesday.
The disclosure came as Bruno defended the $1.2 billion incentive package to lure at least one plant to the site in his district.
“They’ve looked all over the world, looked all over New York state, down the Hudson, out West and settled on Luther Forest,” he said. “Why? Because we have invested in seven, eight years up there for this event, that’s why.”
The undeveloped Saratoga County campus, which spans the towns of Malta and Stillwater, is the chosen site for AMD, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver disclosed, while Gov. George Pataki said he hopes to seal the deal soon.
An announcement could come as soon as Thursday, Bruno said. The 1,350-acre Luther Forest site, he said, may become the home of two AMD chip plants eventually “if somebody doesn’t blow what’s going on.” The competition for such plants is fierce, he noted, requiring a big lure.
Bruno made his revelations during a sometimes angry-sounding, 15-minute discourse on his philosophy on job creation, his role in improving the state’s economy and the importance of confidentiality in economic development deals.
