Hard to say, but I'm just shaking my head on why anyone would want to grant tax incentives to a project that may or may not build here without even knowing something about the company itself.
Anyway, here's some speculation it could be Apple....
These projects just don't employ many people either... you only need a handful of network/hardware administrator types to keep a massive facility like this running.
Shoot for the Moon... if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
A state economic development official says Iowa is competing with Nebraska to attract a $1.2 billion data center.
Debi Durham, director of the state Partnership for Economic Progress, says Thursday she can't name the company due to a confidentiality agreement. But she said it's not Google, Microsoft or IBM, all of which already have operations in Iowa.
Durham says the company is considering two locations in Iowa and one in Nebraska. She expects the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board to hear the plan and consider incentives to attract the business at a March meeting.
Iowa has a law aimed at attracting high-tech projects that includes a potential sales tax break on electricity used at those operations. Nebraska is considering similar legislation.
The company hopes to begin construction in May.
"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."
Stargazer wrote:These projects just don't employ many people either... you only need a handful of network/hardware administrator types to keep a massive facility like this running.
I don't know much about this stuff, but I'll defer to Jeff on the employment #'s. Kinda' makes me wonder about the economic advantage of having a data center if it's going to employ so few people and the state is going to subsidize it with tax breaks. Outside of the initial jobs generated by its construction, I don't see where it's a plus. Seems like it's bound to raise electric utility rates across the board if the generating plant has to increase capacity (especially in a place like Kearney), since the article points out that it would be the largest single consumer of electricity in the state.
Last edited by ricko on Thu Feb 09, 2012 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
No announcement yet on where this is actually going (or who it is), but Kearney is making moves; "Kearney City Council voted to buy an additional 53 acres of land adjacent to the Tech One Crossing technology park, which is reportedly among the sites competing for the mystery project."
Altoona appears to be in the running for a massive $1.5 billion data center that is likely the project Iowa and Nebraska have been battling fiercely to land.
Proposed site plans submitted to Altoona show phased construction of three data centers, each between 350,000 and 380,000 square feet in size. Each building would represent an investment of about $500 million, said Mark Kittrell, a data center consultant based in Cedar Falls. . . .
Last edited by icejammer on Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"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."
Altoona appears to be in the running for a massive $1.5 billion data center that is likely the project Iowa and Nebraska have been battling fiercely to land.
Proposed site plans submitted to Altoona show phased construction of three data centers, each between 350,000 and 380,000 square feet in size. Each building would represent an investment of about $500 million, said Mark Kittrell, a data center consultant based in Cedar Falls. . . .
Sounds like Altoona won. The data center is for Facebook
LINCOLN — A $1 billion data center reportedly has picked Iowa over Nebraska, despite an effort by the state to sweeten its economic incentives for such large projects.
I'm curious if Kearney was really in the mix or were they using Nebraska as a lever over Iowa. Â Lot's of games can be played these days. Â You wouldn't believe the incentives states are willing to shove at you if you even think about bringing investment or jobs. Â It's a brutal battle these days. Â You send for info for a 100 employee project and they wet their pants.
The state of Ohio will pretty much promise the moon to get you to move there. Â I'm serious, the moon.
Not big on jobs but a lot of benefits for the area. Â Would have been a good get after we got the Fidelity one last year. Â Sounds like more are looking at us.
Microsoft is proposing to spend more than $670 million on another West Des Moines data center. The company is seeking $20 million in tax credits to create about 30 jobs. The Iowa Economic Development Authority on Friday was considering approval of the incentives.
Already, Microsoft, Facebook and Google have chosen Iowa for data centers. Microsoft’s total investment is expected to exceed $1 billion in Iowa with the new project.
I don't mean to sound like sour grapes but in the end how many jobs have all these data centers created?  Yep tons of initial investment but a huge amount of incentives.  What has Google really done for the Bluffs?  Maybe 100 jobs?  It would have been nice to see Kearney get the Project Edge development but it's not a world-ender that they didn't  The Buckle is building a new office building.  That is the kind of organic growth that provides real jobs and real growth. Â
Data centers sound sexy but they really don't add much to the economy after the construction jobs are done. Â AND they consume two things. Â Millions in incentives and a mountain of energy, at cheap rates.
Data centers get overrated in cities like Omaha and Des Moines, but 30 something high paying jobs and the cache a name like facebook brings can do a lot for a city like Kearney. Â They are nice to have and good to put on a city's resume, but in the end a manufacturing or distribution plant that employs 200 would be a much bigger deal for Omaha than a data center that we would have to give millions in incentives to.
iamjacobm wrote:Data centers get overrated in cities like Omaha and Des Moines, but 30 something high paying jobs and the cache a name like facebook brings can do a lot for a city like Kearney. They are nice to have and good to put on a city's resume, but in the end a manufacturing or distribution plant that employs 200 would be a much bigger deal for Omaha than a data center that we would have to give millions in incentives to.
I couldn't agree more. I still just don't understand the fascination with these power hog centers.