The planned expansion of the North Country Colocation Services (NCCS) facility, located in the former Reynolds/Alcoa plant in Massena, is being undermined by proposed Massena regulations.

For the last seven years, NCCS has proudly invested in its workforce and its community, spurring job growth and becoming a major community partner. The company started in Massena in 2017 with a handful of contract workers. Today, NCCS employs over 80 full-time workers by offering competitive wages and generous health and retirement benefits. NCCS is playing a critical role in driving the local and regional economy by bringing tech and non-tech-related job opportunities to the North Country, generating substantial tax revenue for the Town of Massena and St. Lawrence County, and providing significant income to other businesses in our area that rely on NCCS.

However, NCCS’s future operations and community investment is threatened by proposed Massena regulations that would single out our industry and prohibit NCCS from pursuing its planned $100 million expansion, denying our community a much-needed economic jolt.

NCCS’s current site is over 70 years old and is in a constant state of repair. In 2024 alone, NCCS will spend several million dollars to renovate the space. This band aid approach to facility renovations is far from cost-effective, and eventually, new building construction will be necessary.

The current building is also lacking in size to accommodate emerging technologies. To keep up with data center demand and to do so at a level that allows NCCS to remain competitive, the company will need to renovate existing infrastructure and construct new efficient buildings to scale its operations.

However, if a new building is constructed for the purposes of cryptocurrency mining, which is what the Reynolds/Alcoa facility is being used for currently, excessively onerous and cost prohibitive cryptocurrency mining regulations will apply to our new construction. These regulations will apply despite NCCS operating in an industrial zone, in a building that causes no visual or noise nuisance to our community members, and in a safe manner compliant with all applicable code requirements.

These attributes are key – no one is complaining about visual or noise nuisances at our site, and our site is acknowledged to be safe and professionally run. Therefore, there is no reason for new building construction to be prohibited and subject to the misdirected cryptocurrency mining regulations. The Town should treat NCCS like any industrial zone company that wants to expand by making the company subject to the normal site approvals but not excessive additional requirements.

NCCS has invested wholeheartedly in the town of Massena as an employer and community partner. The company provides medical benefits at no cost for individual health plans, as well as an automatic 5% employer contribution for 401K benefits independent of the employee’s participation. NCCS hosts numerous employee engagement and enrichment opportunities and proudly serves as a major donor of local organizations and events. If NCCS is unable to expand outside of its existing footprint due to misguided and burdensome regulations, the company will not be able to invest in its workforce or community at its current rate. Ultimately, these regulations threaten NCCS’s future existence in Massena and the jobs that are associated with it.

Now, I urge the Massena Town Board to adopt appropriate exemptions to any proposed cryptocurrency regulations that would allow NCCS to continue to operate and expand, including by constructing new buildings, so NCCS can continue to operate in Massena and invest in the local and statewide economy.

I also encourage members of the public, employees, and community leaders to join us at the April 17 Town Board meeting to show their support for NCCS, its operations in the North Country, and its commitment to the local economy.

David Fogel is the CEO of NCCS