First on 13: GlobalFoundries buys up all of its surrounding land

In what may be the most telling sign that GlobalFoundries plans to build a new fab, the company has purchased the entire Luther Forest Technology Campus.

Mark Mulholland broke this story Thursday morning on WNYT.com.

In a deal formally announced Thursday, the chip-maker adds roughly 1,100 acres to its footprint in Malta and Stillwater. 

“This land purchase gives us the space and flexibility we need in the near-term to service the growing market demand for secure, reliable U.S.-made chips,” said Steven Grasso, managing director of global government relations at GlobalFoundries. “This purchase also represents GF’s long-term commitment to New York and growing the semiconductor ecosystem that supports both GF’s world-class manufacturing facility in Malta and the regional semiconductor cluster envisioned by the CHIPS Act.”

The purchase — which had been discussed since last year — appears to clear the way for the construction of a second chip fab on the campus. That would bring thousands of direct and related jobs to Saratoga County. 

The sale price has not yet been made public, but is said to be in the millions of dollars.

GlobalFoundries currently has around 2,500 employees in Malta. It has invested $15 billion in the facility to date.