Bittersweet Memories: Blighted IBM Endicott Buildings Coming Down

Several massive, crumbling structures at the once-proud IBM manufacturing complex in the village of Endicott are finally being torn down.

Just over a year after the company abandoned its last few offices in the community that is considered to be "The Birthplace of IBM," wrecking crews have started the cumbersome process of removing the blighted "Old Building Group" along North Street.

Taxpayers are covering at least $8 million of the cost of the long-delayed demolition project.

Broome County is providing $2 million it received in federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act. New York state government approved $6 million to help finance the project.

IBM sold the 62 buildings and the property it owned in Endicott to a group of Broome County businessmen in a 2002 deal backed by state government.

The agreement was announced by Governor George Pataki on the same day it was revealed the company was selling its once-powerful microelectronics unit to a newly-created entity called Endicott Interconnect Technologies.

The IBM exit strategy became clear only 18 years after President Ronald Reagan toured the site. The head of the company's Endicott operations bragged that ground had just broken for three new buildings at the complex. He said "we're planning and growing for the future."

But those plans quickly changed and several thousand jobs were lost as IBM reinvented itself as a provider of services instead of a maker of high-tech computer equipment.

The buildings now being torn down contained 550,000-square-feet of space. They've been vacant since 2007.

Wisconsin-based Phoenix Investors acquired the Huron Campus property three years ago with a goal of modernizing the site and removing structures that could not be salvaged.

Gorick Construction crews are expected to complete the demolition project in several months.

No redevelopment plans have been announced for the site after the old buildings have been torn down.

As the demolition began, the village of Endicott revealed it has filed a lawsuit contending IBM operations over the course of decades had contaminated wells that supplied the village water system. IBM contends the legal action is unjustified and the company plans to fight the lawsuit.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A close-up view of the IBM Endicott demolition operations on January 2, 2025.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.