GlobalFoundries has secured the right to purchase more land in Saratoga County near the chip manufacturer’s $13 billion Malta campus.
The announcement comes as lawmakers are considering investing tens of billions of dollars in America’s semiconductor industry over the next five to 10 years to help the United States compete with China.
GlobalFoundries said on Monday that it secured a purchase option agreement for 66 acres of undeveloped land near the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
The land is located at the southeast end of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Saratoga Technology + Energy Park (STEP) campus, adjacent to Stonebreak Road Extension, between GlobalFoundries’ Fab 8 chip factory and Hermes Road.
“Amid growing consensus in our nation’s capital for investment in semiconductor manufacturing, it’s more important than ever that we are ready to fast track our growth plans at GlobalFoundries’ most advanced manufacturing facility in the U.S.,” said Ron Sampson, GlobalFoundries senior vice president and general manager of U.S. fab operations, in a statement.
“With this agreement option, we now have additional flexibility to expand our footprint and position Fab 8 for future growth in Saratoga County and New York State, while strengthening U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing,” Sampson said.
GlobalFoundries is the second-largest contract chip manufacturer in the world behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. which announced plans last month to build its first U.S. plant in Arizona.
GlobalFoundries employs around 3,000 people at its Malta factory, and has floated the possibility of building a second facility for years.
The company previously had an option to purchase land in the Luther Forest Technology Campus, a deal that would have positioned the company to build a second manufacturing facility in the future. That contract expired.
GlobalFoundries said that exercising the new option to purchase the NYSERDA land and development will be subject to zoning regulations and client demand. The sale price would be based on fair market value as determined by appraisals.
NYSERDA has been trying to sell the land at the mostly-empty STEP park for years. The 280-acre park was going to go up for auction in April 2017 — and at one point NYSERDA considered transferring ownership of the STEP for $1 to the real estate development arm of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany. In 2018, the state decided to sell the land in pieces instead.
Published by Albany Business Review
