ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The New York State budget added $750 million in funding for a new campus for Wadsworth Center.

Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy said the labs, which have become known as a hub for vaccine allotment and identifying COVID variants in the state, have lost their world-class status.

“Two years ago I was explaining to people what Wadsworth Labs are,” Fahy said.

A new site on the Harriman Campus in Albany has been in the process for years, but the project’s funding has remained in limbo. Fahy said the lab’s role in the forefront of the pandemic is in part why she was able to help secure the money to finally build a new campus in her district.

“It will be the single largest public investment in this region since SUNY Poly or GlobalFoundries. So it’s that important,” Fahy said.

The funds come from the 2022 state budget. The new center is said to bring 400 new jobs to Albany and about two million dollars in needed revenue for the area.

“Now people are like, ‘Wait a minute. I know what they do. Why don’t we invest the money into a place that’s basically saving lives and helping advance all this technology and science,” said Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.

McCoy hopes to continue building on this investment in the county to draw in other companies to Harriman Campus creating what he calls a “life-science cluster.”

“You’re going to have all these people in one area continue on way past when [the pandemic] passes us and COVID-19 goes away. The men and women there will still be doing extraordinary things,” McCoy said.

In a statement, the Department of Health said, “With the support in the enacted budget, we intend to move forward with reshaping this project in a post-pandemic environment.”