After years of disrepair, IBM’s former campus in the village of Endicott is being demolished.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, elected officials gathered to watch a crane begin the demolition of several vacant, blighted buildings once home to IBM.
The project, funded with $6 million from New York state and $2 million in Broome County federal COVID relief funds, is expected to take five to six months to complete.
Officials say it is the largest demolition project in the county’s history. The hope is to create a shovel-ready site for new industrial and manufacturing development.
“This moment is a turning point. It is a declaration that we are ready to reimagine our spaces and reinvigorate our community,” Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said. “The land where these buildings stand will soon hold the promise of economic development, modern facilities and a brighter future for generations to come.”
Garnar said the real estate firm Phoenix Investors, which owns the former IBM campus, has been trying to draw in new industrial tenants for years.
“But it's hard to get people to look past all these old buildings and say, ‘Hey, we've got a great opportunity to come here, but we have to do all this demolition,’” Garnar said. “And I really think what you'll see is an incredible amount of interest and things actually happening here once the buildings come down.”
Endicott Mayor Nick Burlinggame said though the buildings have been dilapidated and vacant for years, watching them finally be demolished is emotional.
“For so many, these buildings are more than just bricks and mortar. They represent decades of memories, progress and the dreams of countless families who built their lives here,” Burlingame said. “And while it is incredibly tough to see them go, we recognize that the time has come to embrace our collective future.”
IBM officially began operations in the area in the 1920s, with a thriving factory and research complex that employed generations of residents over decades. But in the late 1990s, the technology company began to pull out of Endicott.
In 2023, IBM shut down its last site in the village, leaving behind empty buildings and a complicated legacy of environmental contamination.
Endicott sues IBM, alleging water contamination
The demolition project is not the only way Endicott is trying to move on from IBM. In early December, the village sued the company, accusing IBM of contaminating the local water supply through decades of “harmful practices at IBM’s industrial facilities.”
The lawsuit alleges that IBM improperly disposed of hazardous substances including PFAS and toxic chemicals, despite knowing that it could lead to groundwater contamination.
“Our water sources have been reduced to a single well due to contamination, which is unacceptable for our residents and businesses,” Burlingame said in a statement. “This litigation seeks to ensure IBM takes responsibility for the resources and restorations to our water wells, which are necessary to protect public health.”
In a statement, an IBM spokesperson called the lawsuit unjustified.
"IBM's more than 40 years of remediation activities in Endicott, in partnership with the village and state, demonstrates our longstanding commitment to the health and safety of the residents of the community,” the spokesperson wrote. “There is no justification for the demands being made by the Village of Endicott in this matter, and IBM will vigorously defend itself.”
Efforts to address contamination from a toxic chemical spill at the IBM facilities, discovered in 1979, have lasted for decades, cost millions of dollars and include installing venting systems to prevent hazardous vapors from contaminating almost 500 buildings in the village.
Officials say this year’s demolition project will not require as extensive cleanup or pose an environmental risk because the buildings were used as office space for the company, rather than industrial manufacturing.
Local elected officials say they’re hoping once the buildings are demolished, the shovel-ready site will attract new industrial and manufacturing businesses and mark a new chapter in the village’s history.