As New York state continues to invest in the semiconductor industry, areas around the state are working to figure out where they fit in. In Broome County, leaders are prepping to build a site in the hopes of bringing in businesses that can further support those goals.
What You Need To Know
Broome County is planning to build a more than 500 acre technology park off Airport Rd. in the town of Union and the town of Maine
Residents near the proposed site have expressed concerns about the project and its disruption to the rural community’s character
The park would incorporate walking trails, wildlife viewing areas, new housing and would keep 75% of the parks trees
This picture from the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement shows the proposed location. (DGEIS)
Broome County is working to build a technology park, similar to Onondaga County’s White Pine Park which attracted Micron.
“We look at this as a generational investment for Broome County,” Stacey Duncan said.
Duncan runs the county’s Industrial Development Agency. She says the 500-plus acre park could bring in at least 7,000 new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars once complete — which is good news for one of upstate New York’s poorest counties.
“We’re looking at this as a way to elevate and lift people,” Duncan said.
The park would be built off Airport Road in the town of Maine and the town of Union. But residents who live near the proposed site worry a tech park wouldn’t align with the rural community’s values.
“When I was a kid growing up, I was over there taking walks in the woods, picking up and picking mushrooms and hunting and things like that. That’s all going to change,” resident John Feehan said.
Many of the residents around the park feel the same as Feehan. They say they chose the area for its quiet, country setting. Diane Sattler, for example, has lived in the area for more than 40 years, in a log cabin she helped build by hand.
“If we had wanted to live in the city, we would have lived in the city,” Sattler said. “We moved out here for a reason.”
Diane Sattler stands outside of the log cabin she helped build by hand. (Spectrum News/Natalie Mooney)
George Fish says his family has lived on the same property by the proposed site for six generations. He says it’s hard to imagine a tech park in his backyard.
“Just inconceivable to us people that live here that there’s going to be a road around here with everything from housing for employees and their conceptual drives to the actual huge buildings that are hoped to be used by whoever’s going to move in,” Fish said. “We don’t even know what they’re talking about the park is gonna be.”
George Fish looks out over the land his family has lived on for generations, just outside of the proposed park. (Spectrum News/Natalie Mooney)
Those unknowns are worrying other residents too.
“We still don’t know who is planning to build over here. Are we going to have to worry about our water supplies, our wells? What’s going to go into our wells? What’s going to go into our wells?” Feehan questioned.
But right now, the wells are the least of Feehan’s concerns.
“Can you imagine the mess, the mud, the mess, the noise, getting in and out of your driveways, getting to work on time, getting to your appointments on time, following construction vehicles, etc. etc. etc. the list goes on,” he said.
Duncan said the goal is sustainability.
Part of the proposed 500 plus acre tech park. (Spectrum News/Natalie Mooney)
According to the project’s Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement, the park will feature walking trails, biking paths, and areas for wildlife viewing— all while preserving 75% of the park’s trees.
“We need to build this in a manner that the residents are comfortable with and can feel proud to live next to and we think we can accomplish that,” Duncan said.
But the residents are still skeptical.
A sign in John Feehan’s yard reads “No Corporate Park”. (Spectrum News/Natalie Mooney)
“My wife says, wow, if they’re going to put walking trails up there and I can just walk across the road and go to a walking trail, and it’s going to be so nice and they’re not going to touch 77% of the wooded, the woodland and all that stuff, maybe it won’t be so bad,” Feehan said. “But you know what, seeing is believing, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
The public comment period for the project ended last month. The county is now preparing a Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement, examining the full impact to the area and adopting any necessary mitigation measures.