Lam Research marked the next chapter of its Tualatin operations on Aug. 26, gathering state and local leaders to commemorate a $1.5 billion expansion of its existing Leveton Drive campus. The project by the global chip-making equipment supplier represents one of the largest private industrial investments in Tualatin’s history.
“Today we’re breaking ground on the largest investment we’ve ever made in Oregon,” said CEO of Lam Research Tim Archer at the event.
The major investment resulted from a governmental agreement among Lam Research, Washington County and the City of Tualatin, which allowed Lam Research to receive a partial tax abatement to incentivize construction of the new campus.
In an Aug. 26 Lam Research press release, the new campus was described as a “state-of-the-art Oregon lab, part of a more than $3 billion planned investment in its global lab network over the next five years to accelerate breakthroughs for the creation of advanced AI chips.”
The Tualatin City Council approved the project in a 5-0 vote at their meeting on Aug. 10.
At the meeting, Tualatin City Director of Urban Renewal Sidaro Sin and Assistant Washington County Administrator Marnie Kyle briefed councilors on the new deal and urged them to approve the strategic investment program (SIP).
“As you know, SIP is an effective economic development tool that the county has used since 1994,” Kyle said. “Although these are partial tax abatements over the 15-year agreement, the company does pay ad valorem taxes, a community services fee and a negotiated payment-in-lieu fee.”
While Lam Research is estimated to pay $38 million in ad valorem taxes, a $45 million community service fee and $27 million for the payment-in-lieu, which was negotiated by Washington County, the City of Tualatin and Lam Research, they will pay partial property taxes on the new facility for the next 15 years.
The exact amount in property taxes Lam Research is abated from paying was not provided during public discussions. Out of the ad valorem, community service fees and payment-in-lieu of taxes Lam is paying, Tualatin will receive an estimated $33 million over the 15-year SIP period.
Corporate Vice President for Lam’s Global Product Operations, Wayne Nobles, said that the SIP was crucial to Lam’s ability to bolster the entire campaign across Oregon, not just in Tualatin.
“Without SIP, we would likely have to significantly reduce the scope of this project and focus only on our most essential operational needs, limiting the full economic potential of the TUX project to the city of Tualatin,” Corporate Vice President for Lam’s Global Product Operations, Wayne Nobles, said. “Our goal is to make this important investment in Tualatin while continuing to be a responsible and responsive member of this community.”
At the Aug. 10 presentation and the groundbreaking event on Aug. 26,, it was said that the investment was expected to create 445 jobs, with average pay estimated at $173,000, and Nobles reported that “annual employee compensation is expected to exceed $530 million.”
$620 million of the new investment is going into constructing the Tualatin Expansion, or TUX Project, in Tualatin, which was already approved by Tualatin City Councilors in 2025 and received $22 million in funding from the Oregon CHIPS Act grant.
The presentation to the city council also covered the economic impact of the new facility’s construction, with Nobles stating that the three-year construction period would create 930 jobs and generate $500 million in economic output.
“We believe it will represent a transformational opportunity for the city of Tualatin,” Nobles said. “TUX is Lam’s largest ever investment in lab infrastructure and will be Lam’s most advanced research and development center anywhere in the world.”
“Over the last year, we’ve had a lot of job losses here in Oregon, both at Nike and Intel,” Sin said. “This is a great opportunity and great timing for the investment.”
Before councilors voted to approve the resolution at the Aug. 10 meeting, multiple members of the public expressed concerns over the property taxes Lam Research is not paying, noise pollution and other potentially negative impacts associated with the new lab.
“The thing Lam is offering us, and you, is to build this TUX project, which is already under construction,” said Brett Hamilton from the Save Tualatin Road advocacy group. “So you’re not getting anything new. They’re offering what they’re already doing in exchange for this massive tax break of unspecified millions of dollars.”
While the new laboratory was not yet under construction, at the meeting Nobles verified that construction on an adjacent office space had already broken ground.
Another commenter, Deborah Anderson, agreed with Hamilton’s sentiment, citing unresolved noise pollution concerns around the site.
“I live pretty much directly across the street…the noise is a problem,” Anderson said. “If I have my windows open at all, I can hear all the beeps and the buzzes all day and in the evening as well.”
Lam representatives responded to some of the concerns about noise pollution raised by residents by explaining that Lam was still within the county’s noise ordinance.
At the Aug. 26 groundbreaking, Tualatin Council President Valerie Pratt said the City of Tualatin was “thrilled” that Lam Research was constructing the facility and emphasized that the expansion positioned Tualatin as a “globally recognized hub for the next generation chip technologies.”
Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington also spoke at the event, explaining that the partnership among governments and Lam was fundamental to the expansion’s feasibility.
“Washington County has long invested in this sector using the strategic investment program we call SIP,” Harrington said. “This economic investment tool helps companies to say ‘yes’ to large investments here. When they would otherwise say, ‘No, the taxes don’t work for us.’”
Archer and other Lam Research officials thanked the State of Oregon, Washington County and the City of Tualatin for providing abatement and helping them “build the future together.”
“AI and the pace of innovation it demands has changed everything,” Archer said. “Our success depends on our ability to innovate and execute faster.”
Lam Research officially started construction on the new lab on Aug. 26 and expects the campus to open in 2028.
