A Renewal for IBM Campuses Once Home to Punch Cards and Circuit Boards

When Big Blue left upstate New York, economic pain ensued. But the large complexes left behind are ideally suited for large-scale production and shipping, local officials say.

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — The sidewalks along Washington Avenue in Endicott, N.Y., are empty enough that bicycles cruise their length with smooth sailing. But 40 years ago, when an IBM plant hummed with thousands of employees, the cyclists might have picked a different route. “During lunch hour, you couldn’t see down the street because there were so many people,” said Mary Morley, the owner of Angeline’s Flowers, one of the few storefronts without a “for rent” sign. “It used to be quite the place.” Wistfully recalling times gone by has been a pastime in the Southern Tier and Hudson Valley areas of New York State since IBM began slashing operations and shuttering factories in the 1980s. Indeed, the entire region was once sort of an extended company town for the tech giant, which started there and spurred much of its housing and retail growth. When Big Blue left, economic pain ensued.