Amazon is expanding its data center footprint around Columbus, Ohio.
New Albany City Council last week announced it had approved a resolution that allows Amazon Web Services (AWS) to move forward with plans for new investment in New Albany.
AWS is planning to invest $3.5 billion by 2030 to establish new data centers in the area as part of its wider $7.8bn investment goals in Ohio. Around $1.8bn would go toward construction, with the remaining $1.7bn spent on IT equipment.
Local press including the Columbus Dispatch report that the investment will be five data centers developed. The five buildings would total 1.25 million square feet on 85 of 439 acres the company has bought along Beech and Miller roads. Construction is reportedly due to begin in 2025 and run until 2030.
“AWS has been a strong corporate citizen in Central Ohio since arriving here almost a decade ago and has been a major catalyst in the growth of the Silicon Heartland,” said New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding.
“Our community stands poised to support AWS in addressing the global surge in cloud computing needs. New Albany is dedicated to fostering economic growth and creating a business-friendly environment for the benefit of our citizens and broader community. Today’s announcement is a testament to this vision and a tribute to the hard work of our economic development team and community partners.”
Under the agreement with the city council, Amazon is entitled to several tax breaks. The company would receive a 30-year tax break and pay money directly to the City in lieu.
“We are proud to reinforce our long-term commitment to the State of Ohio with plans to invest an additional $3.5 billion in New Albany by 2030,” said Roger Wehner, director of economic development, AWS.
“Since 2015, AWS has invested more than $6.3 billion in Ohio while supporting thousands of local jobs. Our newest investment in New Albany builds on our rich partnership with the community and the state, and our ongoing investment will help continue to foster innovation, advance the next generation of local technology leaders, and expand on the tremendous partnerships we have across the Buckeye State."
In June, AWS said it was to invest an estimated $7.8bn by the end of 2029/2030 to expand its data center operations in Central Ohio.
The company previously said it has invested $6.3bn in Ohio since 2015. As well as data centers, Amazon has invested in 18 solar and wind farms in the state; once all are fully operational, these projects are expected to generate more than 6.6 million MWh of energy annually.
AWS launched its first data centers in the Midwest in 2016 for its AWS US East cloud region and currently operates data center campuses in Franklin and Licking counties.
Located at 5109 Hayden Run, the cloud company's first Hilliard facility began construction in 2015; construction started on its third building in November 2019. The company is currently wrapping up construction on the fifth and final building there.
Amazon operates a 459,000 sq ft (42,640 sqm) data center in New Albany at 2570 Beech Road in Licking County. In 2019 the company announced plans to develop a 170,000-square-foot data center on 100 acres on the northeast corner of Harrison Road and Innovation Campus Way to the east of the Beech Road facility.
Amazon last year acquired 400 acres of land along Beech Road in New Albany for $116.6 million, just north of the 112 acres the company purchased in 2020.
The company also has data centers in the Hilliard and Dublin areas of Columbus, and is seeking to develop nine more data centers at a new campus in Hilliard.
Google also has a significant data center footprint in Ohio, while Microsoft has acquired land in the area.
