S.W. Idaho proposed site for high-tech corridor
Monday, December 29, 2008 10:51 AM PST
BOISE (AP) — A coalition of private businesses and state and local government officials say they have a plan to entice big, high-tech companies to relocate to southwest Idaho.
The group of more than 100 individuals and companies said it will officially launch the Eagle-Star Technology Corridor, called ESTech, on Jan. 24. The plan calls for attracting high-tech companies to some 79,000 acres near Eagle and Star.
Lloyd Mahaffey, chairman of ESTech, said California has many high-tech companies that might consider looking at southwest Idaho.
Backers of the plan say Idaho offers lower taxes, affordable housing, and fewer transportation problems than some other large cities.
Backers also say the area has an educated work force that includes hundreds of high-tech workers who in the last year lost jobs with Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard but who want to state in the area. One company that has already made the move from California to southwest Idaho is Ugobe, a robotics company that relocated from Emeryville, Calif., to downtown Eagle earlier this month.
However, challenges remain. Bob Bruce, chairman of the ESTech Real Estate and Infrastructure Committee, said high-tech companies rely on communicating with fiber optic cable.
‘‘There is not as much fiber in the ground as I thought there would be,’’ Bruce said of the proposed technology corridor area.
