Its really happening.

After four years of waiting and wondering whether SUNYIT actually would get the multimillion dollar nanotechnology complex promised by state officials in 2009, ground is being broken at the site.

Not by politicians with spotless shovels, but by real workers with heavy machinery.

The $125 million Computer Chip Commercialization Center, known as the Quad C, is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, said Alain Kaloyeros, senior vice president and CEO of Albanys College of Nanoscale Science and Technology, which is partnering with SUNYIT in the venture.

The annual operating budget is expected to exceed $500 million, he said.

Residents will see new opportunities to build high-tech careers in their own backyard, he said. Business owners will find new clients and customers. And the quality of life including the arts, recreation, entertainment and shopping districts will reflect a new vibrancy that will benefit the entire community.

Officials close to the project have hedged about how many jobs there will be, but in a previous announcement, when the project was expected to be smaller, there were set to be about 900 jobs.

Quad C is being funded through a public-private sector partnership and is linked to Albanys College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The chips that will be researched and developed at SUNYIT will be used in everything from phones to medical devices.

Its the foundation for a lot of good things that are going to happen, said Steve DiMeo, president of Mohawk Valley EDGE economic development agency. Its going to change the dynamics of the regional economy.

Becoming a reality

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Nanotechnology complex becoming reality at SUNYIT