It hopes to attract semiconductor supply-chain companies SCHROEPPEL — The County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) will use a $2.5 million grant to pay for roads, as well […]
It hopes to attract semiconductor supply-chain companies
SCHROEPPEL — The County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) will use a $2.5 million grant to pay for roads, as well as water and sewer-infrastructure improvements in an expansion of the L. Michael Treadwell Oswego County Industrial Park (OCIP). “We are thrilled to receive the news of the $2.5 million grant for the expansion of the Oswego County Industrial Park,” James Weatherup, chairman of the Oswego County Legislature, said in the COIDA announcement. “This significant investment will pave the way for the development of shovel-ready sites, enabling us to attract new industrial businesses and stimulate economic growth in our county.” The site is a short drive from the White Pine Commerce Park along Route 31 in the town of Clay, which is the future home of Micron Technology, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: MU) upcoming semiconductor campus. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the funding, COIDA said in its Aug. 29 announcement. That same day, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced he had secured the funding to expand OCIP. Schumer had visited the site on Aug. 6 to announce his pursuit of the funding. This grant will allow COIDA to more than double the size of the existing industrial park by building public infrastructure into the 185-acre expansion site that COIDA purchased in 2021. The public infrastructure will include the construction of more than 3,700 feet of new public roadway, over 4,200 feet of new sanitary sewer, and more than 3,700 feet of new public waterlines. COIDA will match the EDA investment with $2.5 million in its own funding to prepare up to 10 shovel-ready sites to attract advanced manufacturing and semiconductor supply chain businesses that are estimated to create hundreds of new high-paying jobs and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment. “We have this once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that Oswego County is at the forefront of building America’s industrial future, and this site, less than 10 miles from the future home of Micron, is primed to be a part of that future. I stood at the Oswego County Industrial Park [in early August] and promised to fight for this funding because I know how much potential this site has to be a centerpiece of America’s semiconductor supply chain right here in Central New York,” Schumer said in his announcement. “I am proud to say a promise made is now a promise kept with this $2.5 million federal investment I have secured on the way to Oswego County. Together we’re fast-tracking this expansion and getting the site 100% shovel-ready for companies to move in and set up shop.” The $2.5 million will “fast-track” the development of the site, Schumer’s office said in its announcement. Development would involve building the new infrastructure needed to land new companies to support the growth of the semiconductor industry. Schumer said this long-planned expansion would more than double the size of the park, using land that’s already been acquired. He called the potential expansion “critical” as the Oswego County Industrial Park is nearly out of usable space, just as investment opportunities increase for the region. His office said Schumer personally wrote to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in support of the $2.5 million federal investment to help COIDA pay for the development of these new, shovel-ready manufacturing sites. The funding through the EDA’s Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance (PWEAA) Program would support the construction of new public roads, sewer lines, water lines, pump stations, storm water management controls, and other critical preparations of the 185-acre expansion that is being planned on the site. “After years of planning, preparation and collaboration, this federal investment will be the catalyst to transform the Oswego County Industrial Park into a prime destination for new innovative industries, creating additional high paying job opportunities and further diversifying our economy,” Austin Wheelock, CEO of COIDA, said in the announcement. “Thank you to our Federal representatives Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney for their bipartisan support to secure funding for this important economic initiative. We would also like to thank our local and regional partners and stakeholders at the Oswego County Legislature, Operation Oswego County, CenterState CEO, the Central New York Regional Planning & Development Board and the Town of Schroeppel for their support and collaboration.”