Spackenkill raises concerns over tax deal for $2.5B IBM quantum project in Poughkeepsie
IBM plans a next-generation quantum computing facility as a school district questions its share of payments.
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A $2.5 billion IBM quantum computing project is moving forward at the company’s campus on South Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie, but the local school district is raising concerns about the tax deal approved for the project.
The Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency approved tax incentives for the IBM Quantum project Tuesday following a public hearing Monday. The package includes more than $100 million in sales tax exemptions, along with a 30-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, or PILOT, agreement.
Under the agreement, IBM will make negotiated payments instead of paying regular property taxes on the project. The payment schedule starts at around $1 million a year for the first several years before increasing over time.
Spackenkill school officials have raised concerns that the district is not getting enough under the deal. State Sen. Rob Rolison says he has spoken with the district superintendent and school board president and has urged the IDA and other parties to address their concerns.
“I had conversations both with the superintendent and school board president and they just felt that they wanted to have a better outcome in the PILOT agreement,” Rolison told News 12.
The project includes about 300,000 square feet of new and renovated space, according to Town of Poughkeepsie Supervisor Rebecca Edwards. Edwards told News 12 that IBM is currently demolishing an existing building and retrofitting another as the company moves ahead with the project.
IBM plans to make its Poughkeepsie campus a major center for the next generation of quantum computing. The company plans to build IBM Quantum Starling in Poughkeepsie by 2029, which IBM says would be the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Unlike conventional computers, quantum computers are being developed to tackle certain highly complex problems that today’s computers struggle to solve. Potential applications include developing new medicines and vaccines, along with new materials for batteries and energy storage.
Then-President Joe Biden visited the Poughkeepsie campus in 2022 while promoting billions in federal science and research investments. During that visit, IBM announced plans to invest $20 billion across the Hudson Valley over 10 years, including in quantum computing.
Despite the size of the project, many people News 12 approached near the IBM campus Wednesday said they knew little or nothing about it. One neighbor who has lived nearby for 24 years spoke with News 12 but did not want to be identified.
“I don’t know a lot about it, so I’m hearing it mostly for the first time today,” she said. “I would be concerned about how it affects our taxes and environmentally as well.”
The town supervisor says she is excited about the new investment at the IBM campus.
News 12 has reached out to IBM, Dutchess County, the Town of Poughkeepsie and the Spackenkill school district for additional information. News 12 is also waiting for the town’s Planning Department to confirm where the project currently stands in the approval process.
