Onondaga County officials are taking a victory lap after the latest development that allows construction to begin on the huge Micron project. The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, OCIDA, Tuesday approved environmental assessments and tax-incentive deals that allow Micron to move forward.
County Executive Ryan McMahon looked back at years of work that went into the agreements approved Tuesday. With construction beginning, he’s now looking forward to more development, even with Micron’s delayed completion date of 2029 or 2030.
“So, I now have the ability to go to the supply chain companies and say, here's when chips will be made. Most of you need to be done with your projects six months to nine months in advance of that. Do you need to find warehouse space? Can you find it? Ordo you need to build new? If the answer is you need to build new, and it is for many of these companies, they have to start finalizing their plans in 26 and that will be progress.”
McMahon also defended the extensive tax-and-incentive deal Micron received, saying without such a deal, the property would remain a greenfield.
“So, if you don't do these deals, you don't get the company,” he said. “That's why the state came up with green chips. That's why the federal government came up with chips. That's why the federal government increased the investment tax credit. And … once they start hiring 2, 3, 4,000 people, I mean, you're talking about a billion dollars of new payroll in the community. That doesn't exist today.”
Centerstate CEO President Rob Simpson pointed out the project took more than 5 years of collaboration. He’s looking for positive economic impacts starting with construction workers flooding into the region.
“People spending more in our small businesses and having more money circulating in the economy is a great thing. Second, we know we’re trying to bring more people in =to careers in high tech manufacturing and help to bring opportunity to people who haven’t had that opportunity before. That’s a remarkable thing.,” said Simpson.
Both officials noted Micron will be required to mitigate environmental impacts. McMahon added certain green building incentives will ride on it.
“They have to do a lot right related to reclaimed water and different things. … No company has gone through this process and to this level and made the types of environmental commitments that Micron has. I mean it’s in their corporate DNA to begin with, but they've been you know really pushed to a unique level here.,” said McMahon.
Meanwhile, Simpson identified the next challenge for the area. He said managing the power needs of energy-intensive advanced manufacturing that is likely to grow in the region has to be prioritized.
“We have spent multiple decades in a mode other than growth, here in Upstate New York, which means we haven’t invested in the modernization of our energy grid, in distribution, generation and in new technologies. And we find ourselves really needing to scramble so that we can ensure reliability of power, the availability of power, but also the affordability of power,” Simpson said.
Officials said permits needed to begin construction could be finalized in the days or weeks ahead. Initial activity at the site would consist of preparing the ground and removing trees on portions of the property.
