Google CB Data Centers

Including Iowa metro counties.

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icejammer
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Post by icejammer »

jjjjhskr wrote:I would bet that Eppley Airport is working VERY HARD to get flights to the bay area soon.
Excellent point, just one more spin-off of increased economic development in the metro!
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Post by icejammer »

While Google confirmed Tuesday that it was building a server farm here, it started a new mystery:

What will it do with the 1,000 acres of land it has under option in the south end of Pottawattamie County in addition to the 185 already marked off north of Lake Manawa?
Perhaps some clues can be gleaned from this story...

Google Unveils Hybrid Car That Plugs Straight Into Grid
Not content with seeking to control the information super-highway, Google wants to influence what kind of car you drive.

The online search company has unveiled a new, hyper-advanced model of hybrid car that can be charged directly from the grid, and, when its battery is not in use, the stored electricity can be sold back to the utility company. . . .

. . . it will be charged by Google’s new 1.6megawatt solar power facility – the largest such system in the United States – which is part of the company’s pledge of becoming “carbon neutral” by next year. . .

“There’s an awful lot of good for the environment to be done,” Dan Richer, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org, said.
From an earlier story...
. . . It had been suggested that a server farm would make sense for the Lake Manawa location because it is near the MidAmerican Energy power plant. The server farm could use up to one-third of the plant's base power. . .
and in another story, it was mentioned that Mid-American is looking to expand their wind production to 18% of load, which was reiterated at the Google announcement...

Put it all together and you get????  That's about all I've been able to garner so far from some friends out in CA, sounds like some interesting possibilities, but nothing close to even a rumor....
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Post by edsas »

Nice grab, CB!
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Post by icejammer »

Hamilton College ready to meet with Google
Connie Collin wants to talk to Google. She thinks her school has something to offer the company when it comes to Council Bluffs. . .

"Right now, we offer computer and information systems courses and programs, and they're available at our Omaha campus," Collin said. "Google's arrival means we need to look at our Council Bluffs programs. It's hard to speculate, but this is a chance to step back and assess the situation."

Collin said she hopes to schedule a time with Google officials, and to "see what they need as they build their work force."
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Post by MTO »

I wonder if PKI will have anything to say about this matter..
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Post by Coyote »

MTO wrote:I wonder if PKI will have anything to say about this matter..
Read the second post on this page. Google went to PKI.
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Post by icejammer »

Several stories in today's OWH:

Google apt to become the lion of the Midlands IT job market
Executives of three Omaha technology companies don't sound like they're worried about losing their high-tech employees to Google.

They're pretty confident that Google will be hiring different kinds of workers or that their companies are attractive enough to make their people stay.

But there are companies that have reason to worry . . .
Google renowned for employee perks
When the Google culture comes to Council Bluffs, it will include some of the things that have put the company on various "best places to work" lists.

"Plenty of food, plenty of places to take a nap," Paul Froutan, Google's director of operations, said in the Bluffs last week.

What also might come is the "Google 15" — the weight gain many new employees experience as a result of free meals and around-the-clock snacks. . .
Google's stock continues its meteoric rise
It takes more than great technology to make a great technology company. Years after the millennium bubble burst, the lesson is still being learned — the easy way if you own Google and the hard way if your money is in Yahoo.

Since it was first sold to the public at $85 less than three years ago, Google's stock has risen more than 500 percent. Over the same period, Yahoo's is nearly unchanged. . .
Google course clicks at Metro
Google is expanding in Elkhorn, too, but without the land buys and construction plans that excite Council Bluffs.

Instead, one day last week, 14 Metropolitan Community College students at the school's Elkhorn campus cracked open textbooks provided by Google and surfed over to the Google Web site.

They learned how to sell a product like a rope hammock using what's called "search engine marketing," an online technique popularized by Google.

Soon they'll have the chance — given at only two community colleges in the country — to set up Google-based marketing plans for more than a dozen Elkhorn small businesses.

It's not a stretch to think that some of these students would want to land a job at Google someday. . .
Google seeks OK to lay fiber-optic cable
Google will need oodles of fiber-optic cable to make its Bluffs data center work.

Less than a week after the Internet search company announced plans to build the $600 million data center, the company is seeking approval to have fiber-optic line laid under or on city land. . .
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Post by icejammer »

A fairly recent photo update on construction...

Image
After completing a portion of the south wall July 19, construction workers continue to build a section of the north wall of Google’s new data center Thursday afternoon. The building is on schedule to open in Spring 2009.
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Post by Vince Furlong »

The link below is to a piece in the Dalles (OR) Chronicle about Google locating in "smaller towns" around the country.  Several paragraphs
note the Council Bluffs project.

Regarding the incentive package that CB offered Google, is that available on the web?


http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/ ... 7-01.shtml

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Post by icejammer »

The "package" offered to Google, as far as the State incentives, would readily be available through the Iowa Legislature website - don't recall the bill number, but I'm sure you can find it out there easily enough.

As far as City incentives...you can try the City of Council Bluffs website and peruse the various agenda items that get published, but I would suspect that that document(s) will not be found.
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Post by icejammer »

Daily Nonpareil wrote:Construction continues to progress on the new Google Data Center on South Omaha Bridge Road in Council Bluffs.

The final exterior walls have just been finished and interior work will begin soon on the $600 million facility.

"We're continuing with our technology construction as planned, the building has already been expanded, and we're working around weather conditions," said Matt Dunne, Google Community Affairs spokesman.

Dunne said there is still a focus on the recruiting front.

"We're accepting applications for managers for hardware and Linux system administrators, so they can get trained appropriately," he said.
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Post by icejammer »

Council to seek Google tax benefit
Google Inc., which is building a site in Council Bluffs to house computers to support its Internet services, will ask the City Council to seek state tax benefits for its construction process.

Google wants to apply to the Iowa Department of Economic Department under the High Quality Job Creation Program that would provide the company with a refund of sales, service and use taxes associated with the purchase of construction materials related to the renovation and construction. . . .
Google tax benefit request approved by city council
The Council Bluffs City Council Monday night approved the request of Google, Inc. to seek state tax benefits for its construction project along the South Omaha Bridge Road. . . .

The company is also interested in participating in the Targeted Jobs Withholding Tax Credit that will provide a diversion of employee withholding taxes from the state to the city and then back to the company to utilize for project expenses.
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Post by icejammer »

Google starts interviewing for positions
. . . Officials were in town last week conducting interviews for facilities technicians, data technicians and other technical positions for their $600 million facility.

People hired will be sent to Google's data center in The Dalles, Ore., for training.

There is still plenty of time for people to gain possible employment at the facility. Google officials will be back in town on Nov. 6 for The Daily Nonpareil Job Fair at the Mid-America Center. . . .
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Post by Stargazer »

They've been interviewing for some time now.  A number of our unix admins will likely be making the jump.
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Post by icejammer »

My understanding is the "further east" land referenced in the story is the 1000+ acres that Google has an option on. . .

Annexation of land on city council agenda
. . . The City Council Monday night will vote whether to approve voluntary annexation of 424 acres of land abutting a section of the southeastern limits by the MidAmerican Energy Co.

"The annexation goes directly east of the MidAmerican plant," said Gayle Malmquist, development services coordinator of the Community Development Department.

The energy company owns 356.7 acres of the proposed annexed land with Robert Adkins and Sons, a family farm corporation, owning 50.4 acres and the trustees of the Pony Creek Drainage District owing 16.8 acres.

Changes in land use in those 424 acres are not expected, Malmquist said, but annexation is needed so that the city can prepare infrastructure for possible development further east. MidAmerican, whose plant is located in the city limits, uses its 356 acres for wetlands and water, while the Adkins land is used for farming. . . .
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Post by icejammer »

Google picks up pace in Bluffs
Google's data center project here could get a lot bigger a lot sooner.

The company has purchased almost 1,000 acres of rural land south of the city for a possible second site for its Council Bluffs operations, said Mark Norman of the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce.

Part of the land is being graded and evaluated for construction, Norman said. Norman and Ken Patchett, a Google operations manager overseeing development of the Bluffs center, said no decisions have been made about what will be done with the land. . . .

But Norman said the company might instead start building the second phase on the 1,000-acre site, which is about four miles southeast of the current construction site. One thousand acres is a sizable piece of ground; a section of land, or a square mile, is 640 acres.

"I would anticipate that if everything falls into place, phase two would be down there," Norman said. . . .

In a statement, Google spokeswoman Sunny Gettinger said it will take more than a year to prepare the land. She said the work is being done now "in order to shorten the timeline for possible future deployments."

"We're very happy with the potential for growth in Council Bluffs should our business and capacity needs require it," the statement said. "Progress on the initial project is going very well." . . .

It's too soon to know how extensive Google's development will be, Norman said. "The potential is there, but at the moment nobody can say whether it will or will not happen."

The 1,000-acre site is outside the Council Bluffs city limits. But the city intends to annex that land and other areas of possible industrial development in coming years to provide for orderly growth, Hanafan said. . . .
and in related news...

Annexation plans put on hold
The City Council Monday night voted to postpone voluntary annexation on that amount of land near the MidAmerican Energy Plant in southeastern Council Bluffs until noise issues can be resolved. . . .

The proposed development agreement asked that the city allow an electric utility generation facility not to exceed an "85" noise level as measured 500 feet from the source of such sound. After hearing the neighbors' concerns, the council requested that number be reduced to a noise level of "65." A lawyer representing the energy company then expressed concern that was not in the proposed agreement.

The council then voted to postpone the annexation issue until the Dec. 10 meeting to allow time for the city and the energy company to review the matter.

"We don't have their (MidAmerican) support without an agreement," City Attorney Richard Wade said.
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Post by icejammer »

Google offers peek into a data center
. . . Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce members got a sneak peek at the interior of the company's Dalles, Ore., data center at the chamber's quarterly luncheon.

"Council Bluffs is a community that's open for business," said Ken Patchett, guest speaker at Tuesday's meeting. . .

Patchett also said people who work for Google have fun, but they have to come to work every day saying, "I can do this."

"We're looking for people who are leaders in their own space, who want results," he said.

Those people may include information technology professionals and people who are new to the industry and looking for a career change.

"We had three people from the Nonpareil Job Fair that went to Atlanta and have been through the hiring process," said Patchett.

He said, if they're hired, they will move to Council Bluffs. . . .
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Post by Brad »

I think this is Google, behind the church.  If it is, it is really hard to get a good view of it:

Image
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Post by Coyote »

Second phase may be in works for Google
NonPareil wrote:The Google announcement in June of its $600 million investment in Council Bluffs also included consideration of nearly 1,000 acres of additional land for a possible second phase of the company's project. A necessary step to get that phase started will occur Monday evening when the Pottawattamie County Planning and Zoning Commission will be asked to rezone 775 acres from agricultural to industrial use. The land is located near Wabash and Bunge avenues.
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Post by Brad »

It doesn't say wither the Industrial foundation asked for the change or Google asked for the change.  I am wondering if the industrial foundation asked for the change in hopes of luring Google in for phase 2.
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Post by icejammer »

Pretty sure it's a Google-driven request, the annexation by the City of land to the west (a couple posts above this) is so they can put in infrastructure that Google will need.
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Post by icejammer »

Daily Nonpareil wrote:The Pottawattamie County Planning and Zoning Commission Monday night unanimously approved the rezoning of 775 acres from agricultural to industrial use as a necessary step for the possible expansion of a Google project.

The land is located near Wabash and Bunge avenues.

Mark Norman, an official of the Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation said the land is where Google is looking for a possible second phase of its $600 million investment in the community.
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Google gets initial approval to rezone land to industrial use
Omaha World Herald wrote:In the latest step this morning, the Internet search company was given initial approval to have more than 775 acres of land rezoned from agricultural to industrial use. The Pottawattamie County Board voted 5 to 0 in favor of the change. A final vote will take place Wednesday.

While no final decisions have been made, Norman said he still expects that the second phase of the data center project will be built on the 1,000-acre site. "The majority of the development will be in the center of the site," Norman said, adding a substantial amount of open space will exist on the edges.
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Post by icejammer »

Basically the same thing from the Nonpareil:
Another step for a possible second Google facility in the Council Bluffs area got first-round approval by the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors Monday.

On a 5-0 vote, the board approved the first of two readings of an ordinance to change the zoning of land allowing for construction of the possible facility. The second and final reading to change zoning from agricultural to industrial is expected Wednesday.

The land Google is considering for a second facility encompasses 965 acres north of the Bunge soybean processing plant. Monday's first-round action involved rezoning about 775 acres. Approximately 190 acres is already zoned industrial.

"It's a required step that takes us one step closer, though no decisions (by Google) have been made," said Mark Norman of the Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation, which owns the land. "No timeline has been established for any decision."

The county's Planning and Zoning Commission gave its approval for the rezoning last month.

Google is currently building what Norman described as a server facility along South Omaha Bridge where the old Council Bluffs Drive-in was located and hopes to hire 100 people to staff that operation. The possible second facility would be similar, Norman said.

"I'm pleased the board went ahead and approved it today (Monday) and looking for final approval on Wednesday," he said.
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Post by icejammer »

And a followup story:

New Google project OK'ed
Dirt work has already started on ground south of Council Bluffs where Google is considering a second plant in the area, Mayor Tom Hanafan said, adding he's confident the nationally known firm will build there.

"They've been moving dirt and have been for quite a while," he said Wednesday afternoon. "They want sewer and water, and we have sewer and water. I'm confident they will build there." . . .

Hanafan also said the city will annex that land soon.
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Post by icejammer »

Google deal tops 2007 business progress
The highlight of 2007, as the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce sees it, was landing the Google project, said chamber President Bob Mundt at the chamber's annual meeting Tuesday at Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel. . . .
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Post by thenewguy »

i drove down there today and that place is pretty massive!  Kinda makes me wonder if they really need ALL that space...then again, i don't know jack |expletive| about running a business like that.
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Post by Raraavis »

It will be interesting to see if they rent out data center space to other companies.  If you build all the infrastructure for a data center it usually makes sense to try and recoup some of the cost by renting out rack space.  Perhaps Google has so much money that they aren't worried about it.
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..

Post by Erik »

I could've sworn that somebody told me that we have a Cisco datacenter... If not, do we have another major one besides google?
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Post by Ben »

Erik wrote:I could've sworn that somebody told me that we have a Cisco datacenter... If not, do we have another major one besides google?
Both First National Bank and First Data have large data centers here in town....  First National's is between 14th and 15th, just north of Capitol - behind the wagon train monument, not sure of the location of the First Data one, but its got to be out there in the Aksarben/72nd street area somewhere.
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Post by icejammer »

Corridor would advance Google plans
On Monday, the Council Bluffs City Council will consider several resolutions to create the utilities corridor. The city would buy land for the corridor and utility easements for the site for a total of about $150,000. The city would be reimbursed by the Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation.

The corridor is a necessary step toward plans to develop the second Bluffs site that Google has purchased, a 1,000-acre parcel north of the Bunge soybean processing plant. The site is expected to be the second part of Google's data center. . .
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Council approves utility corridor
. . . The City Council Monday evening unanimously approved the establishment of a utility corridor from the city's wastewater treatment plant to the possible plant site north of the Bunge plant. . . .

. . . Altogether, that's about 965 acres, of which 600 is owned by the foundation and the rest is owned by a Google subsidiary. . . .
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Post by guitarguy »

wow doesn't matter what is on the table in council bluffs their city council passes it unanimously

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Post by thenewguy »

that's what i was thinking.  The way they get stuff done reminds me of that SNL skit with Chris Farley as Newt Gingrich and all the senators briefly step up to the podium with their proposals and Farley bangs the gavel, shouting "DONE!"  As it goes on, the senators just effortlessly come up without saying much of anything, and their proposals get automatically passed.  I'd put up the video but i can't find it.  Anyway, that's how some of this seems, maybe just a little :)  But progress is good, so I'm all for it.
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Post by S33 »

thenewguy wrote:that's what i was thinking.  The way they get stuff done reminds me of that SNL skit with Chris Farley as Newt Gingrich and all the senators briefly step up to the podium with their proposals and Farley bangs the gavel, shouting "DONE!"  As it goes on, the senators just effortlessly come up without saying much of anything, and their proposals get automatically passed.  I'd put up the video but i can't find it.  Anyway, that's how some of this seems, maybe just a little :)  But progress is good, so I'm all for it.
lol, I remember that skit.
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Post by icejammer »

guitarguy wrote:wow doesn't matter what is on the table in council bluffs their city council passes it unanimously
lol.  Actually, there are a fair number of issues that don't pass unanimously.  Of course, much of what they vote on has been vetted through various City departments and pre-meeting sessions before ever coming to a vote and is fairly routine without generating any discussion at Council meetings.
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Post by icejammer »

$1 billion Google benefit to Bluffs?
As Google moves ahead with plans to develop a second data center site in Council Bluffs, it appears the Internet giant's investment in the community could approach $1 billion.

An agreement between the company and the city on how the project will develop will be considered by the Bluffs City Council at its meeting tonight. To reach full property tax incentives, the second part of the project must reach a minimum investment level of $300 million. . . .

Google will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony some time in 2009, but Bencuya said there is no timeline on any announcement for the second site or information on how many jobs could be created for that site. . . .
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Post by icejammer »

Daily Nonpareil wrote:Google is inviting the community to a Google Community Celebration May 19, but space is limited.

The celebration will include live music, local food, children’s activities and other Google surprises.

Up to 100 Pottawattamie County residents will be able to attend the event. To register, visit services.google.com/events/iowa-dc-opening.

Fifty names will be randomly selected, and those picked will be notified before Saturday, May 16. Each person selected will be invited to bring one additional guest to the event.

Only notified winners and guests will be allowed through the entrance.

The event will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. at the new data center site, 1430 Veterans Memorial Highway.
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Post by SabrinaFaire »

I'm going to be there. (I gotz an in) Let ya know how it goes!
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Post by SabrinaFaire »

SabrinaFaire wrote:I'm going to be there. (I gotz an in) Let ya know how it goes!
Figured I'd post an update. We just got back from the event. It was fun. Unfortunately it was hot and windy too. They had two tents set up next to the site so there was some dirt blowing around. Nothing too horrible. If it had rained it would have been a big mudfest though. The IA gov spoke but there was no seating left and I get hot easy so I didn't see it. KETV was there though so I'm sure it will be on the news tonight or on their website later. They had food and Google swag. Food was OK, potatoes not really so much, but the cookies were delish. We got tshirts, yo-yos, silly putty, puffy stickers, and some candy. I heard there was Google M&Ms (or maybe just regular M&Ms not sure) but it was all gone by the time we got there. I got to meet some of my brother's co-workers and made friends with one of their wives who lives near us and is also out of work at the moment so we're going to become the Omaha Housewives. (I think this was the highlight of my night as I don't know hardly anyone out here) Oh and there's also signs up now in front of the building, I know they were keeping it hush hush for awhile but it's clear as day now. There's a security entrance though so I don't think you could get on to the property. They also had security guards all over the place so that no one wandered into the building where they shouldn't be.
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