Onondaga County has finally come to an agreement with a 91-year-old widow over property critical to the massive Micron Chip Plant project.
The County’s Industrial Development Agency, OCIDA, agreed Thursday morning to pay Azalia King and her family $3 million dollars to acquire her home and 6 acres of additional land. In exchange, she agreed to move by next May.
County Executive Ryan McMahon said the county did not overpay, thought did agree to a higher settlement value than they wanted.
“There was no scenario where we could have had Ms. King living (there) and Micron happen. And if we did not come to a settlement, there is no Micron," explained McMahon. "So as painful as the process was for our team and the King family, it was absolutely necessary if we want to have the historic investment.”
Timing was key to this agreement. If site clearing did not start in the next few months, Micron would miss deadlines for billions in federal tax credits. The company is in line for both incentives from the CHIPS Act and investment tax credits worth as much as 35% of the total project, according to McMahon.
The money to pay King doesn’t come directly from Micron, but McMahon noted income to the county from this and related projects make the settlement an investment.
“Micron will be paying the county IDA massive fee at some time, when the closing happens, but we have fees all the time. And right now there’s a lot activity going on because of the Micron project coming. The county IDA continues to get fees from developers because of that, saving the taxpayers millions of dollars,” said McMahon
Next up for the project is securing federal and local permits, then tree clearing on a portion of the property. An official groundbreaking is expected in the coming weeks.
King was promised 20 years ago that she could stay on the property. McMahon says the huge jobs and economic boost for the region caused the county to reconsider that pledge.
