Google Selects North Carolina for New $600 Million Data Center

Search giant Google Inc. has chosen the small western North Carolina town of Lenoir to expand it high-tech infrastructure. The new data center, which is expected to create as many as 210 jobs for the area, will include a massive “server farm” designed to host and provide access to information Google gathers, stores and makes available to users from around the world. The jobs created will help revive a strained economy suffering the effects of thousands of lost jobs in the furniture and textile industries in recent years.

The state of North Carolina plans to give Google $4.8 million as a part of a total incentives package that could reach more than $100 million. Google rep. Barry Schnitt said that the area’s water and power infrastructure, which was already in place because of the existing manufacturing facilities, made Lenoir a good fit. Google was also impressed with the team of local officials who negotiated with the company.

The data center in Lenoir will be the newest of several similar Google sites around the world. The company plans to hire local workers for many of the jobs at the data center, such as construction and maintenance workers.

Google already has a small presence in North Carolina, a five-person software operation in Chapel Hill. An opening date for the new data center has not yet been announced.