Governor’s Utica Announcement Will be More Than Nano
When Governor Andrew Cuomo comes to town on Friday don't expect the Marcy Nano project to be the only announcement he's going to make. Recently, business leaders in the area received invites to an event with the Governor on Thursday (this event has been rescheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m.) and almost immediately, media outlets began surmising the topic of conversation.
Over the last several weeks, reports have surfaced about advancements made in Albany by General Electric and a partner that will ultimately create a packaging and assembly opportunity for Quad C in Marcy. The Albany Times Union reported on Wednesday that Cuomo will announce that Danfoss Silicon Power entered into an agreement with GE last year to operate a chip packaging facility, which will result in about 300 jobs. Governor Cuomo announced back on August 20, 2015, that AMS of Austria would construct a chip fabrication facility in Marcy. After several delays in the timeline, AMS pulled out of that deal back in December, leaving the Marcy Nano site in limbo. Since then, state and local
officials have vowed to attract new business to the facility by aggressively reaching out to perspective investors, including companies like tech giant Foxconn which has shown an interest in building a new facility in the United States. A source close to WIBX said the Governor's announcement on Friday, could reveal a timeline on the GE/Danfoss project at Marcy; but, should also include additional positive economic news for the entire region.
One new advancement could involve drone testing at Griffiss International Airport. A legal notice posted in February announced a public hearing that was held on February 13, in regards to a building project there. That hearing was generally unreported in local media. According to the notice, Gryphon Sensors, LLC of North Syracuse is planning a $10.1
million building project at 598 Hangar Road in Rome. New York State Urban Development Corporation has awarded $5.1 million to the company towards the project. The new facility is expected to create 20 new jobs as part of a drone testing corridor between North Syracuse and Rome. Once the project is completed sometime in April, Gryphon is expected to to expand the testing site throughout the region including an area east of Utica, according to UAS Vision. That phase of the project is expected to cost an additional $30 million. Gryphon is a subsidiary of SRC Inc. in North Syracuse and has another facility located in California.
The Governor's announcement is also expected to include major news for areas outside Oneida County, as well. Sources tell WIBX that a project announcement possibly involving the Tractor Supply Company, which is expanding nation-wide according to recent reports, is expected to be made regarding the Pumpkin Patch (Frankfort 5S South Business Park) on Route 5-S in Frankfort. Additional announcements are expected regarding economic news for Madison County, as well.
Sources tell WIBX that the Governor's announcement will happen at 10:15 a.m. Friday at Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica. It was originally schedule for Thursday afternoon. WIBX will carry the address live.
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