AT&T has chosen Kings Mountain, North Carolina, as location for its upcoming US$200m data center construction project.

State Governor Bev Purdue’s office announced the decision Wednesday, saying the state estimated the project to make a $935m economic impact over 10 years. “Their decision is a testament to the excellent economic environment we’ve created for technology innovation in this state,” Purdue said.

AT&T plans to hire more than 100 full-time workers for the future data center. The project will also require about 1,000 temporary construction-related jobs to be filled until it is completed in 2013.

The company plans to launch the data center in 2014.

AT&T has a mixed approach to data center infrastructure. Some facilities it operates on its own, and some it leases from others.

Earlier this month, it sold a data center in Redmond, Washington, to Griffin Capital. The buyer said AT&T would continue occupying the three-building campus, which includes both office and data center space, leasing it back from the investment trust.