Gov. Kathy Hochul announced nearly $40 million in grants across the state for the Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (FAST NY). The Mohawk Valley is seeing $14 million of that funding to create a semiconductor supply-chain campus to complement the region's Wolfspeed fab and Micron in Clay.
The governor quoted the 1989 film "Field of Dreams" saying "If you build it, they will come" — applying that mantra to cultivating development in upstate New York.
"Seven new sites will be funded to get them ready around the state," Hochul said. "Someday they will house the emerging industries of the future and I'm talking about renewable science and life sciences agribusinesses as well as high tech."
The funding aims to increase site attractiveness to large employers and high-tech manufacturing companies.
"Embrace the swagger of upstate New York because you have reason to boast, to be proud," Hochul said speaking of the investments made by Wolfspeed and Micron.
Hochul said laying that groundwork now will help attract new industries to the state and help fuel the local economies for generations to come.
"Employers want to know that the permits are in place, the infrastructure is right, and work can begin almost immediately because time is money," Hochul said. "That is exactly what we're doing here. We want to position ourselves for the jobs of the future and create generational wealth based on people who stay here, not leave as has happened for so long."
The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency received $325,000 to develop what Hochul's office is calling "White Pine South" — aimed at creating a supply chain campus with warehouses, manufacturing plants and research and development centers supporting Micron.
