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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Foxconn Plans Two Operation Centers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

07/17/2018
Foxconn reached agreements to purchase The Grand, a six-story office building, and the majority of the first floor at the Haymarket Landing building in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The Grand is a 43,000-square-foot building at 204 E. Grand Ave. that was constructed in 1929 and is recognized as a prominent part of Eau Claire’s business district. It has been used by various local financial institutions and most recently was occupied by Wells Fargo and various tenants until 2016.

The company also is purchasing about 15,000 square feet of space at Haymarket Landing, which is part of the Confluence Project and a major public-private partnership aimed at redeveloping the center of downtown Eau Claire and its riverfront. Foxconn will occupy almost all of the first floor of the building at 220 Eau Claire Street.

Foxconn Place Chippewa Valley and Wisconn Valley Innovation Center will accelerate development of the company’s AI 8K+5G ecosystem and expand the ever-growing footprint of the company’s Wisconn Valley technology hub. It also will serve as a way for the company to attract talent, connect with potential supply chain providers and align with potential partners.

While Foxconn Place Chippewa Valley will be located in Eau Claire, the facility will benefit the entire region, said Steve Jahn, Executive Director of Momentum West, the regional economic development organization encompassing 10 counties in west-central Wisconsin.

"Although we are early in the process of Foxconn’s development in the state, the company’s commitment to the state as a whole is evident with today’s announcement,” said Jahn, who also took part in Monday’s announcement. “We look forward to additional opportunities for business and industry in the Momentum West region of west-central Wisconsin to capitalize on the addition of Foxconn to the state.”

Monday’s announcement comes less than three weeks after Foxconn and Governor Walker announced plans for a similar Foxconn Place along the Fox River in downtown Green Bay that will create at least 200 high-tech jobs.

Foxconn is building a $10 billion advanced manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant that is expected to create up to 13,000 direct and 22,000 indirect jobs, as well as thousands of construction jobs. Once the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park is fully operational, Foxconn is expected to make $4.26 billion in supplier purchases annually with roughly one-third being sourced from Wisconsin.

“We are excited to expand our Wisconn Valley footprint to the Chippewa Valley and west-central Wisconsin,” said Alan Yeung, Foxconn’s Director of U.S. Strategic Initiatives, who joined the governor in making the announcement Monday. “Our goal in establishing Foxconn Place Chippewa Valley is to help inspire innovative ideas, attract talent and catalyze cutting-edge solutions from companies and entrepreneurs in this part of the state.”

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