Is Oswego County’s Housing and Infrastructure Ready for Micron?

OSWEGO, N.Y. – SUNY Oswego Economics professor Elizabeth Schmitt has watched Central New York seek economic momentum. Now, the Micron Technology investment, she says, may be the biggest breakthrough in decades.

“I’ve lived here since 1995, and I think this is the single best piece of economic news and economic development that the region has gotten since my arrival,” Schmitt said.

On Oct. 4, 2022, Micron Technology announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in a 1,400-acre semiconductor campus in Clay, New York, featuring four fabrication plants.

The project is backed by former President Joe Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, including up to $6.44B in federal funding and federal tax credits. New York state also promised up to $5.5B in Green CHIPS incentives. Construction is expected to continue into the 2040s.

New York State projects 76,000 people will flock to Central New York, in neighboring Oswego County, where there is both tepid excitement as well as concern and disbelief about the Micron project.

“You hear people here, their grandparents lived here, their parents, and they’ve lived here,” Schmitt said. They seem to be a lot more down on the area economically. Why people have been down is because of deindustrialization, people watch factories close, and jobs go away.”

The county has had a recent history of major industries shutting down and leaving lasting economic scars.

In Volney, the Miller Brewing Company plant closed in 1994, eliminating about 900 jobs. In Fulton, Henri Nestlé opened a factory in 1900 that later became the birthplace of the Nestlé Crunch bar. After Nestlé closed the factory in 2003, the site sat vacant for years before demolition crews delivered the final crunch to it in 2016.

Mayor of Fulton Jim Rice (D) says that the city is still “a little behind” on getting prepared for Micron, but is optimistic for the future.

“I feel like we are a little behind.” Rice said. “One of the big things is housing, and I don’t think anybody is caught up with the housing demand that is going to be happening.”

Rice added that it’s a hard spot to be in because Fulton is landlocked and is limited on expansion; however, the city has worked with the Oswego County Land Bank to revitalize vacant properties seized in foreclosure, helping make more affordable single-family homes for first-time buyers and attract people who are moving in because of Micron.

“We got six properties that we took on foreclosure from the 2022 list.” Rice said. “Hopefully, turn them over to the land bank by May 19. The land bank got a $2 million grant, and with the six houses, they will spend a significant amount of that money in the city of Fulton.”

On the former Nestlé site in Fulton, the Common Council approved a plan allowing Jim Rice to move forward with a deal with INDUS Hospitality Group to build an 80-room Hampton Inn hotel aimed at serving workers tied to Micron Technology’s regional growth.

Separately, Nestlé Building 30 at 533 S. Fourth St. will be demolished in June and replaced with a 30,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing incubator through a developer swap involving CDM and the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency. INDUS is also proposing future redevelopment of the remaining 18.3 acres, a “Nestlé Town Center” concept with up to 150 mixed-income housing units, a street of shops, and public areas.

Schmitt says that the housing supply is lower but can be built up, and that not all the housing demand will be single-family.

“I think a lot of the housing demand has to do with Micron will not necessarily be single-family.” Schmitt said. “Ramping up apartments and townhomes, kind of the density projects, is going to address that.”

Since October 2022, home values in Oswego County have gone up by roughly $32 thousand, while home building and income have stagnated, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the rural Southern part of Oswego County, there will soon be a new $126 million sewer line, which will flow from the town of Constantia to the city of Fulton’s wastewater treatment plant. The county says it will open up 30,000 acres to housing and business development.

“This project will allow for housing and industry growth and development.” Oswego County Director of Workforce Development, Rachel Pierce, said. “Exponentially more housing needs to be built with the influx of population needed to fill the Micron jobs and subsequent positions at the supply chain companies. Those supply chain companies will also need to be supported through this project.”

Rice says that he’s been assured by the county that the Fulton plant has excess room for the new line.

In Oswego, Mayor Rob Corradino (R) says he is optimistic about the city’s future but concerned about mounting development pressures.

Corradino pointed to a potential fourth nuclear plant in Upstate New York, along with growth tied to Micron Technology, SUNY Oswego off-campus housing, and tourism, as factors that could strain housing and infrastructure if they advance at the same time.

“I just had a meeting with area leaders from New York State—three representatives came up to discuss a possible fourth nuclear plant. We covered a lot of topics, including that one,” Corradino said.

“If Micron is being built at the same time as a nuclear power plant, that’s going to put added pressure on housing, roads, infrastructure, and schools,” he added. “It is a concern, and I think your characterization of a ‘perfect storm’ would fit that—two large projects happening at once, and only so much capacity.”

Despite those concerns, Corradino said he sees long-term upside for the city, particularly in business growth and tourism.

“If you wanna be near a lake, near a river, in a city with good parks and good roads, the city of Oswego will be high on the list,” he said. “I see an increase in the next 5–10 years… a small increase in population, and an increase in business openings.”

Schmitt says that outside of the urban centers of Fulton and Oswego, she believes that the biggest winners in Oswego County will be Mexico and Phoenix.

“Where the growth will be in Oswego County is in Phoenix and Mexico.” she said. “In Phoenix, you are seeing some planning and density development going up, and both schools are also planning; they have excess capacity, so they can absolutely take additional students.”

As for higher education, SUNY Oswego received a $1 million grant from Micron to support STEM education as part of broader efforts to strengthen the regional workforce pipeline. The school also announced it was expanding its Syracuse Campus to reinforce the pipeline and capitalize on the Micron investment.

“My work with Micron Technology has mostly focused on strengthening the K-12 teaching core in New York, in particular, some of our rural areas, including Oswego County,” said Dr. Laura Spenceley, Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services at SUNY Oswego. “We have persistent shortages in STEM education, we have challenges filling math positions at the high school level, physics, chemistry, and those are absolutely the types of curricular pathways for folks thinking about leadership or engineering work at Micron.”

The funding is part of $35 million in Micron Technology community investments announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the first awards from the $500 million Green CHIPS Community Investment Fund, aimed at supporting housing, workforce development, and job training tied to the region’s growth.

SUNY Oswego also hosts the county’s Micron Steering Committee.

Weeks removed from the groundbreaking at the Micron site, questions remain about how the long construction period will shape housing, infrastructure, and Education in Oswego County.