National Grid and DCG Development announced
the successful attraction of Axcelis
Technologies to the newly developed Tech Valley
Flex Park on Wood Road in Clifton Park.
The project was made possible in part by
a $160,000 National Grid infrastructure grant
awarded to DCG Development to extend gas and
electric infrastructure to the new Flex Building
now occupied by Axcelis.
The development of new “flex” space in Saratoga
County is part of a long term effort led by the
Saratoga Economic Development Corporation
(SEDC) to assist property owners with the development
of shovel-ready sites and preparation of new
industrial and commercial building inventory. The
need for new, flexible property inventory has grown
since GlobalFoundries broke ground in 2009 and
has grown rapidly since that time, according to
development officials.
DCG Development is meeting the need with the new Flex Park located at Northway Exit10. The park was developed in anticipation of future build-out of GlobalFoundries and the need for supply chain companies to locate in close proximity to Fab 8.1. The 1.9 million-square-foot manufacturing plant has a 300,000-square-foot clean room for producing microchips and other microelectronic devices. National Grid infrastructure programs have been helping developers like DCG mitigate the risk and cost of preparing sites and infrastructure for future development.
Rob Mahoney, vice president, global service solutions and quality at Axcelis said the company is “excited to be a part of the rapidly growing semiconductor community here in Clifton Park. The DCG Flex Park is strategically located close to our customer, which optimizes our responsiveness and support capabilities. We look forward to expanding our presence in the region as manufacturing ramps to high volume production.”
“National Grid is pleased to be able to facilitate this project through our Capital Investment Grant Program,” said William J. Flaherty, National Grid’s director of customer and community management. “Expanding and enhancing the infrastructure while bringing needed jobs and economic growth to our area is critical to our communities.”
DCG Development President Donald Green said his company is “grateful for the assistance from National Grid and support from SEDC in our effort to attract new jobs to Saratoga County.”
Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett welcomed Axcelis to the Tech Valley Flex Park. He said thoughtful land use planning efforts and collaborative partnerships “will continue to enable Clifton Park to attract private sector investment, expand our tax base and create job opportunities.”
With the help of National Grid, the park which is just four miles from the Luther Forest Technology Campus, is now ready for occupancy. The Flex Park offers a combination of office space and warehouse space with 18-foot ceilings and overhead garage doors. Space sizes start at 750 square feet and go up to 12,000 square feet.
DCG also has approved buildings that can accommodate up to approximately 40,000 square feet and additional adjacent land that could accommodate up to approximately. 200,000 square feet.
“The attraction of Axcelis to the Clifton Park Flex Park is a great win for Saratoga County,” SEDC President Dennis Brobston said. “SEDC has been talking about the need for flex space for quite a few years. DCG Development took a risk to help meet that demand and National Grid helped ease that financial burden for DCG. This collaborative effort fits the true definition of partnership.”
Axcelis, headquartered in Beverly, Mass., designs, manufactures, and services capital equipment for the semiconductor industry. The company recently leased 3,000 square feet of newly constructed space from DCG Development to support GlobalFoundries Fab 8.1 at the Luther Forest Technology Campus.