Construction cost for Albany NanoTech's NanoFab Reflections building has increased to $614 million, up $64 million from $550 million. NY CREATES seeks additional funds, including a $150 million loan, to cover expenses. The project aims to support semiconductor innovation in the US.
NY CREATES photo
An aerial photo of the NanoTech campus in Albany, N.Y., new construction in the top-right.
NY CREATES, the entity that owns the Albany, N.Y. NanoTech complex on Fuller Road, said in early May 2025, that its new NanoFab Reflections building will now cost $614 million, an increase of $64 million.
DPS/Gilbane, a joint venture between DPS Advanced Technology Group and Gilbane Building Co., was awarded the contract, which was initially set at $550 million in early 2024.
But by the end of 2024, the NY CREATES board agreed to increase the DPS/Gilbane contract to $614 million, although that forced NY CREATES to also seek additional private funding sources, according to minutes from its Dec. 16, 2024, board meeting.
"As the project has progressed, identification of project requirements has been further refined," the records said.
Increases in the cost of large, complex construction projects are not unusual, especially in the early stages, NY CREATES said, and it is seeking a $150 million credit line with M&T Bank to cover the extra costs.
The project also includes construction of a 900-car garage at the Albany NanoTech campus, along with upgrades to the electrical substation to handle the additional power the research facility will require once it is completed in 2026.
NY CREATES operates two legacy nonprofit entities that own real estate in Albany and in other areas like Utica, N.Y.
One, Fuller Road Management Corp. (FMRC), owns the Albany NanoTech buildings and is the entity that is seeking the loan, although NY CREATES, which is technically separate from Fuller Road Management, will serve as "a guarantor" for the loan, according to the board minutes.
"FRMC is working through the loan process to secure up to $150 million should it be needed for any unforeseen costs related to construction of NanoFab Reflection, which is being specifically designed to house the most complex High NA EUV equipment ever made," Steve Ference, a NY CREATES spokesperson, told the Times Union in a statement.
"Commercial loans of this size generally take several months to close," he said. "The project, which will enable development of the world's most advanced computer chips right here in the U.S., is currently on schedule."
A next generation lithography tool, the High NA (an acronym for numerical aperture) EUV (extreme ultraviolet) process uses ultraviolet light waves to etch atomic-sized transistors onto the silicon wafers used to produce smaller, more powerful, and energy-efficient microchips.
New York State Set to Be Leader in Semiconductor Production
NanoFab Reflection will house one of the most expensive machines ever built for computer chip manufacturing, the $400 million EXE: 5200 High NA EUV lithography machine. Only one company, ASML of the Netherlands, manufactures the machines.
"This [NanoFab Reflection] complex is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of semiconductor innovation here in New York and across the country," said Christian Calabrese, senior project executive of Gilbane, in a statement.
The new ASML machine is so important to making next-generation chips that the United States has an agreement with the Dutch not to sell the machine to China, according to the Times-Union.
New York State is contributing $500 million for the construction of NanoFab Reflection, which will also be home to a new, $825 million national computer chip research center funded by the federal CHIPS and Science Act. It also will be home to New York's $10 billion High NA EUV Lithography Center, first announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December 2023.
DPS/Gilbane has been actively hiring as the project progresses. In addition, the joint venture is in the process of awarding a number subcontracts for the project.
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