Google CB Data Centers

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Google CB Data Centers

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I was told by someone in the industry that Google would be building in the Council Bluffs Area.  Anyone heard of this?
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bradical
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Re: Google

Post by bradical »

Anonymous wrote:I was told by someone in the industry that Google would be building in the Council Bluffs Area.  Anyone heard of this?
Rumor I heard is that it was going to be out in La Vista, near the PayPal campus.
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Post by Guest »

Are we sure we're not simply talking about the building which is just finishing up now? (in Southport East)
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Post by el gato »

No insights, just adding to the conversation...

There have been rumors of a Google building a datacenter in the area for the last couple of years. But this is the first for an 'office' that I've heard. Google does have a few satellite offices here and there, but they are typically pretty small. Their larger facilities have usually seen quite a bit of press and have been fairly public (see the recent North Carolina office announcement).

The spouse of one of Google's lead search engineers is from Omaha and her family is still here, so he is in town every so often (Matt Cutts, see: http://www.mattcutts.com/ ).

As to the LaVista location, I've heard PayPal holds the option on the sod farm land and has future expansion plans beyond the second building. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
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Post by Guest »

Not exactly the best spot to build a data center, in the middle of the flood plain.  It's going to take a |expletive| load of dirt to get that tract of land above 200  year flood levels.
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Post by LaVista Insider »

There is currently plans in the works for the sod farm. About 80% of the sod farm sits under the flood plain, as much as 9 feet below the flood plain is some places.  Some dirt would be brought in and some would be shifted around, but a lot of the farm will end up in green spaces like sports fields and parks and remain in the flood plain.
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Post by MTO »

I just don't understand why Applegoo would build anything like that around here in the first place.
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Post by Guest »

I heard from a real estate agent in Council Bluffs over the weekend that there is much speculation to Google coming to the Bluffs.  The speculation is that it will be where the drive in theatre was, plus they are tearing down two new buildings nearby.  Of course the purchaser of this land is just a cover for whatever company is actually moving in.  Many seem to think Google.[/b]
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Post by Erik »

That would be awesome, open up some of those help desk jobs that I am suppose to be working at.....
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Post by DTO Luv »

I don't think it will be going in CB. Everything I've heard puts this out by PayPal in LaVista.
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Post by jsheets »

I really hate to burst your bubbles, but Google building large data centers around the country is not big news at all.  While it is good that they are looking here, I just want to show that it is happening many places in the country.  Here is a great article: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007 ... 01510.html
I live in South Carolina, a state that I can argue qualifies as a technology backwater despite being the shrimp and grits capital of the world. Why, then, are the local business pages filled with stories about Google preparing to build massive data centers here? Google is apparently negotiating to build data centers in Goose Creek, a town not far from Charleston, where I live, in Columbia, the state capital, and a third location across the border in Georgia. To read the papers, Google might choose one or another of these locations, but according to people I have spoken with who are fairly close to the action, Google actually seems intent on building in all three locations.
I'll go further and guess that Google is planning to build similar data centers in many states and that the two centers they are apparently preparing to build here in South Carolina are probably intended mainly to SERVE South Carolina. That's perhaps 100,000 servers for four million potential users or 40 users per server. What computing service could possibly require such resources?

The answer is pretty simple. Google intends to take over most of the functions of existing fixed networks in our lives, notably telephone and cable television.
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Post by Guest »

Sweet!! Then it probably is almost a guarantee then!!
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Post by Big E »

Nice find, Sheets.

Google is intent on dethroning Microsoft wherever Microsoft is currently... um... throned.  Looks like they may have to knock off a few phone companies along the way.  We may all also live to see the end of the phone companies as we know them.  Not sure if that's a bad thing.

There's probably not a lot of folks on here that can remember renting a phone from THE phone company, similar to the way you rent your modem or cable box today.  You had NO options on where to get your service or equipment.  

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Post by almighty_tuna »

Big E wrote:There's probably not a lot of folks on here that can remember renting a phone from THE phone company, similar to the way you rent your modem or cable box today.  You had NO options on where to get your service or equipment.  

-Big E
...old enough to remember our rented rotary phone!  :lol:
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Post by Uffda »

Big E wrote:
There's probably not a lot of folks on here that can remember renting a phone from THE phone company, similar to the way you rent your modem or cable box today.  You had NO options on where to get your service or equipment.  

-Big E

...old enough to remember our rented rotary phone!  Laughing
...old enough to remember those and I will see you one telephone Party line out in the country   :lol:
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Post by Big E »

Uffda wrote:...old enough to remember those and I will see you one telephone Party line out in the country   :lol:
Heck ya...  Grandma's house outside Tarkio, MO... pick up the receiver, rattle the thingy and give your phone number to an operator to make a phone call.  I remember that into the early 80s.  At least they were actual 10 digit numbers and not something like "Transylvania 6-5000".  ':D'

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Post by almighty_tuna »

I call your party line with 4 digit local dialing in small town NE.  (pun most definitely intended)
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Post by Uffda »

LOL  --- the young people in here just kind of went -- Huh?
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Post by DTO Luv »

I actually know about party lines and rotary phones. My mom said they had a neighbor on party line that would forget to hang up and they had a whistle they'd blow so she'd hear it and hand the phone up. We had a rotary phone in a house we lived in, that worked, around 2000.
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Post by icejammer »

From an unrelated story in today's Nonpareil:
There's "no announcement pending" on plans for the land where the drive-in once stood, he said.
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Post by nebugeater »

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... id=2363258

This is from Today's OWH.  On KFAB this AM they are tying this story to Google coming to the area.
COUNCIL BLUFFS - Something big is in the works in Council Bluffs.



Click to enlarge.The Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation is assembling about 180 acres of land for an industrial project just north of Lake Manawa.

In the latest step, the city's Planning Commission on Tuesday night recommended extending the amount of time during which any companies that locate on the site would qualify for property tax rebates. That matter will go before the City Council April 23.

Information is limited about the project, partly due to confidentiality clauses included in purchase options on some of the land. Security also is important to the business reportedly interested in locating some operations there, said a developer of a nearby project.

The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, home to Offutt Air Force Base and numerous technology firms, is known for its large network of fiber-optic cables. And the Bluffs site would have easy access to the expanding Mid-American Energy plant in southern Council Bluffs.

But Mark Norman, who works with both the foundation and the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce, remained silent on whether a technology firm is being courted.

"I would say that the metro area as a whole is attractive to a wide variety of industries," he said. "Of those, I think we would have a lot to offer high technology firms as well."

The foundation, which is affiliated with the chamber of commerce, was created decades ago to develop industry in the area.

The proposed industrial site - which covers just over a quarter of a square mile - is north of Highway 275, from South 11th Street to South 24th Street.

The City Council earlier this year voted to transfer control of South 15th Street, which runs through the property, to the industrial foundation. The foundation has closed the street and a 24-hour security watch is posted. A sign warns passers-by against trespassing............................




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Post by icejammer »

http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6343

One small key piece to this puzzle is this tidbit...
Earlier this year, the city did promise to provide the area with more than 500,000 gallons a day of sewer capacity. The head of the city's water works said the industrial foundation has approached the water board about increasing the water supply to the area.
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Post by nebugeater »

icejammer wrote:http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6343

One small key piece to this puzzle is this tidbit...
Earlier this year, the city did promise to provide the area with more than 500,000 gallons a day of sewer capacity. The head of the city's water works said the industrial foundation has approached the water board about increasing the water supply to the area.
ON KFAB, Whith Jeff B. I believe, they said that this would be a requirement for Google based on there other data centers.  This would be required for the cooling tower water discharge for cooling all the electronic equipment.  Now, my experience with cooling towers says that this can be done with more of a closed loop system but it is possible that they could be discharging this much water... OR maybe it is such a big deal they have a LOT of tolets!!!  :mrgreen:
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Post by icejammer »

I agree nebugeater, more of a closed loop system makes sense, but consider that, on average, you would estimate 100 gallon per capita-day for similar type industry, that's a whole lot of people...
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Post by CB Insider »

Its a True Rumor.
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Post by agibson95 »

Google is going to Council Bluffs. Nebraska misses out on all the property tax money once again.
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Post by Stargazer »

Oh please... give it up with the state partisanship where the metropolitan area is concerned.  There has been all sorts of new economic development on the Nebraska side of the river... be happy for the Iowa side.
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Post by icejammer »

Thank you Jeff, that is certainly true.  What many don't realize is that if Pott. Co. growth had kept pace with Douglas and Sarpy since the end of WWII (the "birth" of the suburban explosion), there would be (at least) 40,000 people more in Pott. Co than there are presently (and that's a whole lot of property and other tax that would certainly be welcome).  While I can certainly understand agibson's frustration, the more equal growth you have throughout an area, the better that area is overall (at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).

Let's just hope this comes to fruition, it will be a marvelous project for the entire metro, if the job influx is as great as it seems it might be.
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Post by agibson95 »

Stargazer wrote:Oh please... give it up with the state partisanship where the metropolitan area is concerned.  There has been all sorts of new economic development on the Nebraska side of the river... be happy for the Iowa side.
I am happy that Google is coming to this area. Very happy! However the property taxes its going to generate would be very welcomed on this side of the river. Im just a little bitter on the property tax issue right now.

Did you know that in the 90's Nascar and Disney both wanted to build here? I worked at Leo A Daly when they did the plans for Disney. They couldnt get the necessary tax breaks and Disney went to Carolina and Nascar went to Kansas City. Not that KC wasnt destined to get it over us anyway, but...
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Post by Adam »

I have some connections at CB City Hall, and I can also confirm that this is true... not that there's much doubt anymore anyways!
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Post by Stargazer »

Unfortunately, if it's just going to be a server farm... I would expect there will be no more than a few dozen jobs created.

Hopefully there's more to it than that.
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Post by icejammer »

Stargazer wrote:Hopefully there's more to it than that.
Hopefully... :D
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Post by icejammer »

Has Google search hit Bluffs site?
The large project Council Bluffs is wooing would bring more than 150 high-tech, high-paying jobs to the metro area, said a Bluffs city official.

City Councilman Darren Bates said that although he hasn't been told the name of the company in question, he has been told the jobs would have a typical salary of $60,000.

The Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation has made no announcements about a major company to occupy the business park it plans on about 180 acres of land it owns or has options to buy.

The local development community, however, is buzzing with the name of one company: Google. . .

The 150 or so jobs would come in a first phase of construction, Bates said, and two other phases of construction are anticipated, each with the possibility for a similar number of jobs.
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Post by nebport5 »

agibson95 wrote:
Stargazer wrote:Oh please... give it up with the state partisanship where the metropolitan area is concerned.  There has been all sorts of new economic development on the Nebraska side of the river... be happy for the Iowa side.
I am happy that Google is coming to this area. Very happy! However the property taxes its going to generate would be very welcomed on this side of the river. Im just a little bitter on the property tax issue right now.

Did you know that in the 90's Nascar and Disney both wanted to build here? I worked at Leo A Daly when they did the plans for Disney. They couldnt get the necessary tax breaks and Disney went to Carolina and Nascar went to Kansas City. Not that KC wasnt destined to get it over us anyway, but...
Disney is in Carolina?
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Post by Guest »

would bring more than 150 high-tech, high-paying jobs to the metro area
Okay, perhaps they'll require more admins than I thought they would.  150 would be great!
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Post by Guest »

nebport5 wrote:
agibson95 wrote:
Stargazer wrote:Oh please... give it up with the state partisanship where the metropolitan area is concerned.  There has been all sorts of new economic development on the Nebraska side of the river... be happy for the Iowa side.
I am happy that Google is coming to this area. Very happy! However the property taxes its going to generate would be very welcomed on this side of the river. Im just a little bitter on the property tax issue right now.

Did you know that in the 90's Nascar and Disney both wanted to build here? I worked at Leo A Daly when they did the plans for Disney. They couldnt get the necessary tax breaks and Disney went to Carolina and Nascar went to Kansas City. Not that KC wasnt destined to get it over us anyway, but...
Disney is in Carolina?
It was a DisneyQuest. They opened one in Chicago and planned to open others in various locations. I thought it went to Carolina, but I cant find reference to that on Google.
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Post by Asten »

Anonymous wrote:
It was a DisneyQuest. They opened one in Chicago and planned to open others in various locations. I thought it went to Carolina, but I cant find reference to that on Google.
The Chicago one has been closed for years.   I went as part of a company outing once... it was mostly a big disney themed arcade.   For what they charged, it's no shock it's out of business.
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Post by icejammer »

Back on topic...

Legislators work to land 'multibillion investment'
Two Iowa lawmakers say a large Internet company is weighing whether to locate part of its operation near Council Bluffs - and the House is moving ahead with incentives for that company.

"The best information we have: This could be at least a $600 million investment with 100 jobs at $50,000 to $130,000 per job or as much as 10 times that number," said Rep. Phil Wise, a Democrat from Keokuk and a member of the House's Ways and Means Committee, which passed the bill with the incentives on Tuesday. . .

Essentially, the incentives would offer sales-tax and use-tax breaks on equipment, machinery and electricity on an investment of at least $200 million. Wise predicted the bill would be approved early next week by the full Iowa House. Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma are all vying for the business, he said. . .

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Economic Development said Tuesday that it had no application for incentives from a company matching Google's description. The Iowa Economic Development Board, which weighs incentives for companies, meets on Thursday. . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

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Post by Stargazer »

Everyone cross their fingers!
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Post by icejammer »

Google employees mum on plans during local talk
Google employees were in Omaha on Tuesday to meet with representatives of the U.S. Strategic Command and to speak to students and faculty at the Kiewit Institute.

But during the two-hour presentation at the University of Nebraska institute, the two employees didn't address whether the Internet search giant plans to build a data center in Council Bluffs. . .

Dixon and Evanoff are part of a team that works with federal agencies interested in using Google technologies, such as the Google Earth mapping feature, for their own purposes. For example, Google worked with the State of Alabama to map out utilities and other infrastructure for use in an emergency.
Very interesting, especially if these two are around today, while Gov. Culver is in CB today...
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