By DREW KERR
dkerr@poststar.com
Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 9:25 AM EST
MALTA - Site plans for a proposed computer chip factory at the Luther Forest Technology Campus have been submitted, a step officials said should squash any lingering doubts that the project is a go.
The Foundry Co. -- a proposed partnership between Advanced Micro Devices and the Advanced Technology Investment Company of Abu Dhabi -- on Monday gave officials in the town of Malta a 6-inch-thick binder that provides new details of the firm's building plans.
In the documents, the company outlines its intent to construct a total of 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing space on 222 acres at the Luther Forest Technology Campus, which straddles the Malta-Stillwater town line. The campus would occupy 163 acres in Malta and 54 acres in Stillwater.
The plans call for four structures to be built in Malta, including a two-story, 883,000-square-foot "water fabrication" building, a three-story "support" building, an administration building and a central utility building.
The structures will also be built in accordance with "green building standards," in hopes of obtaining the "highest practical" LEED building certification, the plans state.
Travis Bullard, an AMD spokesman, said the plans should signal the company's firm commitment to bringing the project to fruition.
"Obviously, getting the site plan permits together requires an incredible amount of investment and effort," he said from the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. "This is truly a big milestone for the project."
Anthony Tozzi, Malta's building and planning coordinator, said the site plan approval process will now proceed in three phases.
The town's planning board will consider a soil disturbance permit that will allow ground clearing to begin. The board would then consider a temporary construction permit, followed by a final site plan approval.
The town's planning board will add two meetings a month to its calendar to speed the approval process, he said. The board next meets on Feb. 10.
"We intend to expedite the process somewhat, but we also intend to do our due diligence," Tozzi said.
After a cursory reading of the documents, Tozzi said there should be few, if any, points of controversy.
The plans emerge as AMD prepares to ask shareholders to approve its proposed partnership with ATIC. The vote is scheduled for Feb. 10 and will allow the two firms to officially create The Foundry Co.
It's that joint venture firm that would be responsible for overseeing construction of the $4.6 billion facility. If approved by shareholders, the partnership could be finalized within days, officials have said.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AMD set a March 7 deadline for closing on the deal.
After that, the company will be able to finalize the land purchase at Luther Forest. A purchase price has not been settled upon, but the cost is likely to be between $7 million and $8 million, officials said.
The state has offered the company $1.2 billion in incentives that will expire in July if a deal is not finalized.
But Mike Relyea, the executive director of the Luther Forest Technology Campus, has said the company could begin clearing the heavily forested site as early as March in anticipation of a summer ground breaking.
AMD officials have said they want to have the facility running in 2012.
After the land is purchased, Relyea said he expects other tenants for the 1,400-acre park to begin emerging in rapid order.
The hope is that two other large anchor tenants, as well as a series of smaller support businesses, will come to the park. There are plans to market the site internationally and build it out over the next 10 to 12 years, Relyea said.
"I still can't answer the question of who's coming, but we're trying to get people to understand that there are a lot of things that are pending that will come out over the next four to six weeks," Relyea said.
Because 60 percent of the park must be left as green space, there are about 500 acres of remaining land available for development.
Relyea said manufacturers -- of solar panels, medical devices or other high-tech equipment -- would be eyed as large tenants.
Such developments, he said, would be a boon to the local economy.
"If we do it right, we'll be able to bring 5,000 to 10,000 jobs to the park that were never here before," Relyea said.
Despite the recession, Relyea said he expects interest to remain high and for the state to maintain its interest in luring additional companies to the park.
"The state will have to weigh the jobs and figure out if it's a good investment, but it really doesn't make sense for them to walk away from the area at this point," he said.
Efforts to ready the park itself, meanwhile, are ongoing.
Bids are out to install water and sewer lines throughout the campus beginning this spring, and interior road construction is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
A power substation -- one large enough to supply the city of Albany twice over -- will also be under construction soon. Power is expected to be able to be turned on in April or May of 2010, Relyea said.
