The building of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) plant in Phoenix, Arizona, is expected to lead to the creation of a “Little Taipei” over the coming year, as TSMC employees and related companies move in, a Phoenix-based real-estate agent has said.
TSMC is investing US$12 billion to build a wafer plant in northern Phoenix that is scheduled to begin mass production in 2024. The company on Tuesday held a “tool-in” ceremony to mark the installation of the first batch of equipment at the fab.
Some TSMC employees have moved into newly constructed apartments in a community 10 minutes’ drive from the plant, while several other residential units are under construction, the Central New Agency (CNA) learned on Monday.
Photo: CNA
A TSMC engineer, surnamed Lin (林), recently arrived in Arizona with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
Lin said they have been staying in a hotel since their arrival a couple of days earlier and would move to their new home in a few days.
Working as a dispatcher in the US is a rare experience, Lin said, adding that he planned to send his daughter to a local preschool.
Photo: AFP
Lin said his job duties in Arizona are basically the same as in Taiwan.
Real-estate agent Lu Mu (盧慕) said that the apartment complex, dubbed “TSMC Village,” is close to the fab.
The neighborhood features a coffee shop and gas station, as well as a shopping mall, supermarket, movie theaters and restaurants, Lu said.
The fab is expected to boost the local housing market, bringing in a large number of employees and investors to Phoenix, he said, adding that more apartment complexes are likely to be built in the city.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many employees in the US to switch to remote work, fueling an exodus from major cities, Lu said.
Arizona is a popular destination for many Americans to start a new life, with a cost of living lower than most other US states, he added.
Some people have moved to Union Park, a new community about 10 minutes’ drive from the TSMC fab.
Ben Frie served as vice president of sales and marketing at a top 500 US company and moved to northern Phoenix from Kansas three years ago.
Frie said he is pleased to see TSMC arrive in the city, as it would bring jobs and drive up housing prices.
Michelle Chang (張聖儀), president of the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America, said that about 40 companies that support TSMC’s operations have established facilities and offices in Phoenix, causing commercial property prices to more than double over the past year.
TSMC’s new plant has not only given a boost to peripheral industries, but also spurred Taiwanese food and beverage companies interested in making inroads in the city, including 85°C Bakery Cafe, bubble milk tea brand Sharetea and fresh fruit tea brand Dayung’s.
85°C Bakery Cafe opened its first store in the city on Friday last week. It is the company’s 67th outlet in the US.
Bank of Taiwan also opened an office in Phoenix in June.
When Arizona Governor Doug Ducey visited Taiwan at the end of August, he said that Phoenix’s “Little Taipei” was gradually taking shape.
Chang said that “Little Taipei” would grow next year after Taiwanese companies move into the area.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS