Sametech at UA

[Clickclack]

What does everyone think of Semetech at UAlbany and what effect it will have on the University, the city and the region?

 

IMHO......for UA to be involved with something this huge speaks to the quality of the University and what it has to offer. We are most likely witnessing a birth of an industry and something that will spur growth all across upstate NY. Not only will it bring more people into the region but it will also create jobs and be a huge for the local economy. Watching last nights News10 coverage they had a blurb that the population of the CD could potentially double with the growth of Semetech and the supporting businesses not to mention the development of Luther Forest and AMD. This region is taking on a distinct look of hight tech R&D center and it will be interesting to watch it develop over time. I'm just glad that UA is at the forefront of this high tech initiative. Who knows maybe some of those consortium members (IBM, AMD, Intel etc.) can throw some money UA's way for a new football stadium or if and when we decide to expend/renovate the CUE.

 

Good things are happening all around, sports programs are very strong (Lax, MBB, Football, T&F etc.) academics improving, R&D and all the attention that comes with that. It's a good time to be a Danes fan.

[ATL_DANE]

Great for the region! Great for NY. Great for UA. This will also help athletics in the long run. Large corporations love to give tax right offs (e.g. donations) to the community. How about AMD stadium? Also, we'll be getting transplants from Football Country USA, Texas. Hopefully they come out to some games. We should welcome them. I don't want to get ahead of myself but if we were to get population boom that has to lead to a greater fan base and more press for UA.

 

Sounds like UA is more appropriately named New York Tech... wishful thinking huh? I'm a big GA Tech fan.

[UAalum72]

While the report noted that Austin doubled its population when Sematech took off there, I'm not sure this region has the physical space for that kind of growth. The CESTM site itself is pretty constricted so the tech companies will probably spread out to Saratoga and Rennselaer counties - all the more reason to regionalize and get rid of some of these 200-year old political boundaries and governmental units that aren't necessary any more.

 

But even a 20% growth would mean enormous changes, and the words Sematech Stadium have a nice rhythm to them.

[Clickclack]

I'm excited for the potential of this partnership with Semetech. This will be nothing but positive for UA and the CD. Great read here

 

You guys are right, even if it's a 20 or 30 percent boost in population infrastructure would have to be built up to support that many people. And while the CESTM site is constricted there is some room to grow there, and no doubt many of the supporting businesses will be located around CESTM and not necessarily on site.

 

Wouldn't the presence of a major R&D center on campus boost the quality of incoming students and the prestige of the University as a whole? That might be a rhetorical question, I'm pretty sure that it will.

[UA_MA_2000]

While the report noted that Austin doubled its population when Sematech took off there, I'm not sure this region has the physical space for that kind of growth. The CESTM site itself is pretty constricted so the tech companies will probably spread out to Saratoga and Rennselaer counties - all the more reason to regionalize and get rid of some of these 200-year old political boundaries and governmental units that aren't necessary any more.

 

But even a 20% growth would mean enormous changes, and the words Sematech Stadium have a nice rhythm to them.

 

Great news for the area! And I like the sound of AMD Stadium ... haha (and I'm currently enjoying my AMD 64 X2 Processor for all of my online gaming adventures).

 

As far as whether this region could support a doubling of growth, of course it could. First, how do we define "region"? Second, we can always build up, though this "region" is accustomed to building out and spreading out. Third, people are so obsessed with Saratoga County, yet Columbia County and Greene County, for example, are extremely viable options for members of this region. I know personally, and know of generally, scores of people who commute from these two counties to Albany every day for work (and some commute to NYC). Having spent 20 years in Clifton Park (exit 8a), and now the past three in Hudson and Catskill, I can say that my commute to work in downtown Albany, or at least from Catskill (23-25 minutes on Thruway, exits 21 to 23; 30 minutes total, door to door from Catskill to downtown Albany; and typically 35 minutes to Crossgates parking lot or UAlbany from my apartment), is SHORTER than yours, Saratoga County.

 

When people discover (and many already are) that you can commute to downtown Albany in 10-25 minutes, plus be 20-30 minutes away from ski resorts like Hunter and Windham (i.e., the only place in the Catskills or Adirondacks to my knowledge that has night skiing), people will stop acting like lemmings with their 45-minute daily voyage from and to Saratoga County (btw, did anyone get caught in that 2-hour stoppage of traffic on route 7 on Monday?) and start to build more in southern Albany County (i.e., Ravena, Selkirk, & New Baltimore) and Northern Greene County (i.e., Catskill, Leeds, Athens, Cairo, etc.), as well as other places in the Capital District. Don't get me wrong, I love most of Saratoga County, its school districts, and low property taxes, and I grew up in Clifton Park and would love to raise kids there if I ever have little UA_MA_2000s of my own; but I'm simply stating that the "region" incorporates more than we think and has ample room for a substantial amount of growth. And whether that growth be a "doubling" or some other amount, that is left for us all to speculate because I certainly am no expert in such matters!

 

Thoughts?

[Clickclack]

When we moved to this country we settled by some stroke of luck in Selkirk. Even though I don't live there anymore (my parents do) you are absolutely right, that region of the CD can absorb SUBSTANTIAL growth. Everyone is going North and I'm not quite clear as to why.

[olddog71]

. . . Sounds like UA is more appropriately named New York Tech... wishful thinking huh? I'm a big GA Tech fan.

 

If we become the new NYIT (just like NJIT), then maybe our friends in Loudonville will "Dane" to play us twice a year - with one game at our place.

[UA_MA_2000]

. . . Sounds like UA is more appropriately named New York Tech... wishful thinking huh? I'm a big GA Tech fan.

 

If we become the new NYIT (just like NJIT), then maybe our friends in Loudonville will "Dane" to play us twice a year - with one game at our place.

 

Interesting side note on NJIT and UA hypothetically becoming NY's version of NJIT, and just because I never knew this until I had heard that Siena was going to play them, NJIT isn't too shabby of an institution academically, coming in at the final spot in the top 2 tiers of the US News & World Reports National Rankings: #124.

 

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/r...tudoc_brief.php

[UAalum72]

Having spent 20 years in Clifton Park (exit 8a), and now the past three in Hudson and Catskill, I can say that my commute to work in downtown Albany, or at least from Catskill (23-25 minutes on Thruway, exits 21 to 23; 30 minutes total, door to door from Catskill to downtown Albany; and typically 35 minutes to Crossgates parking lot or UAlbany from my apartment), is SHORTER than yours, Saratoga County.

Thoughts?

Not MY Saratoga County, I stayed in Albany County so I wouldn't have to go over the twin bridges every morning. My commute to the State Office Campus is about 13 minutes.

 

And I know much of the country commutes an hour or more each way; but will they still want to with $4 gas?

 

I don't think it will matter that much; Austin's growth wasn't fueled just by Sematech, the great growth of Dell happened at the same time and that won't happen every time, because a lot of regions are trying to become hi-tech centers. The news said Sematech's 500 jobs multiply to about 4,000, but Schenectady GE alone has lost 20,000 jobs in the last generation so there's a lot of existing housing and infrastructure available.

 

I'm not trying to downplay the worth of the nanotech development, just restrain the giddiness of future growth projections. I remember how much business was supposed to be generated when the Giants announced they'd come here for training camp.

[UA_MA_2000]

Having spent 20 years in Clifton Park (exit 8a), and now the past three in Hudson and Catskill, I can say that my commute to work in downtown Albany, or at least from Catskill (23-25 minutes on Thruway, exits 21 to 23; 30 minutes total, door to door from Catskill to downtown Albany; and typically 35 minutes to Crossgates parking lot or UAlbany from my apartment), is SHORTER than yours, Saratoga County.

Thoughts?

Not MY Saratoga County, I stayed in Albany County so I wouldn't have to go over the twin bridges every morning. My commute to the State Office Campus is about 13 minutes.

 

And I know much of the country commutes an hour or more each way; but will they still want to with $4 gas?

 

I don't think it will matter that much; Austin's growth wasn't fueled just by Sematech, the great growth of Dell happened at the same time and that won't happen every time, because a lot of regions are trying to become hi-tech centers. The news said Sematech's 500 jobs multiply to about 4,000, but Schenectady GE alone has lost 20,000 jobs in the last generation so there's a lot of existing housing and infrastructure available.

 

I'm not trying to downplay the worth of the nanotech development, just restrain the giddiness of future growth projections. I remember how much business was supposed to be generated when the Giants announced they'd come here for training camp.

 

I think you're right about the infrastructure that is still available, especially in Albany County. Having seen some neighborhoods in Albany County, both inside the city and out, I can say that there are some gorgeous homes throughout the County that would probably be affordable to middle(upper)-class individuals ... .

[danefan]

Somewhat off-topic but definitely influenced by Sematech.

 

So I'm leaving the region in August to become the great slave of corporate America in Manhattan and I have been contemplating selling my house in Albany or renting it out. This news sparked my interest a bit. What do you other Capital Regioners think?

 

I'm set to make a buck either way. Any thoughts?