Photonics hub to open in 2017 at former Kodak building
A research hub considered the central piece of the nation's integrated photonics initiative should open on the edge of Eastman Business Park in the second half of 2017, officials said Wednesday.
The state photonics board voted to approve a recommendation to locate the Testing, Assembly and Packaging facility in a former Eastman Kodak Co. building, now home to ON Semiconductor Inc. At 22,000 square feet, the TAP facility will fill shared or excess clean room, lab and office space in Kodak's former Building 81, on the east side of Lake Avenue, linked via a skywalk to a building on the other side of the street.
"In my opinion, this is the most important point in the process," said John Maggiore, chairman of the photonics board. "The TAP facility is where the action is going to be. This is the big moment."
That was evident by the dignitaries in the room for the photonics board meeting at the downtown Riverside Convention Center. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, GOP state Sens. Rich Funke and Joseph Robach, County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo and Mayor Lovely Warren filled the front-row seats, while Gov. Andrew Cuomo took a seat at the table beside Maggiore. Cuomo and others took note of the hub being at Eastman Business Park, a place built by industry pioneers George Eastman and Kodak, in a former research and development building.
"Rochester goes back to what made Rochester in the first place," Cuomo said. "It is coming right back to where it began."
Officials hope to have the facility operational by late summer 2017, possibly by Labor Day or thereabouts, said Robert Duffy, who chairs the separate AIM Photonics Leadership Council, the top decision-making board for the photonics center.
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The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics is a $600 million initiative organized under the Department of Defense in partnership with New York state. The state has pledged $250 million over five years.
Testing, assembly and packaging are some of the most costly and challenging segments for the industry. Just as electronic circuits perfected the use of electrons to develop faster, more powerful computers and cellular phones, researchers hope that doing the same with photons will lead to even greater, more efficient processing power. Success could revolutionize the internet, expand national defense capabilities when it comes to imaging, and lead to untold advances in health care delivery. The central research facility is, therefore, key to advancements and attracting companies to the region.
There were 11 site finalists, with the decision coming down to Building 81 or a location on the Rochester Institute of Technology campus, officials said. Slaughter and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, both issued statements before the meeting praising the recommendation. Said Slaughter: "We really have made a mark on the world."
Costs are estimated to be $10 million less than originally projected, said Howard Zemsky, president and CEO of Empire State Development. The budget for acquisition, construction and renovation of a facility was $28 million. Terms of the lease still are being negotiated, officials said.
The plan is to start moving in come June. The state has thus far authorized $68 million for equipment/tools and licensing. Initial equipment is on order, with another $71 million proposed in the 2017-18 budget that will be more technical and site specific. Officials already are talking with interested companies. The process to license the facility should be completed by year's end, and needs to be as one company is finalizing a budget set-aside for use of the facility, said Michael Liehr, CEO of AIM Photonics.
The institute has two Tier One members now, committing in the neighborhood of $1 million each. Five more are in the final stages of making similar commitments, Liehr said. In all, 60 companies have signed on as members with varying levels of commitment. In four years, the facility must be self-sustaining.
Yet to be decided is where to locate the photonics headquarters, once headed to Legacy Tower (the former Bausch+Lomb office building downtown). There were differing opinions on the urgency in resolving that matter after officials indicated back in October that the matter was being re-evaluated, and that it might depend on where the research hub was placed, and whether that location could serve a dual role. Maggiore said he expected a decision to be made on a headquarters in the first quarter of next year.
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With Wednesday's announcement, Cuomo promised a "rapid rise" of the Flower City built on brain power and innovation. But this will not be a return to old.
He told the audience about a stop earlier in the day at a General Motors plant outside Buffalo, where much of the operation was automated. Cuomo joined GM in announcing a $334 million investment in the Tonawanda, Lockport and Rochester plants, promising 67 new jobs and retaining 1,194. The state is providing $7 million in grants and tax credits.
"This is no longer the manufacturing economy," he said. "It's the advanced manufacturing economy."