Google is planning a $600 million data center in Kansas City, Missouri, The Kansas City Star reports.
This week, the Port Authority of Kansas City’s Board of Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the board to issue a $600m bond for Google to build the first phase of its data center, if the project goes ahead.
The company still has to buy the land for the data center, with the final negotiations currently underway.
Up to $25 billion investment
Port Authority commissioner Dan Fowler said that Google plans to build up to six phases at the site. "This is a win-win scenario that will help KC move forward for many years to come. The City had the foresight to invest in N. Arlington infrastructure, and now it is paying off."
Should the project go ahead, the cloud giant will build its facility on an 80 acre patch of land on the North Arlington Business Park, of which Google will be the first tenant. The data center is expected to bring in $4 million in utility taxes annually.
Andrew Silvestri, Google's head of data center public policy and community development, said: “Google is considering acquiring property in Kansas City, MO, and while we do not have a confirmed timeline for development on this site, we want to ensure that we have the option to further grow should our business demand it.”
If Google’s data center, codenamed ‘Project Shale,’ does move forward, the Kansas City Port Authority could utilize Chapter 68 bonds which would grant Google a 35-year property tax break worth up to $25 billion if the company continues to expand and invest in the facility.
In lieu of taxes, Google would make payments to the Port Authority, which would be distributed between the North Kansas City School District, the city, Clay County and other taxing jurisdictions. The company would also pay towards improving city infrastructure like the former AK Steel Corp mill, which the Port Authority hopes to turn into a freight transfer facility.
Earlier this month, Mesa City Council, Arizona approved a development agreement for a 750,000 square foot Google data center in a suburb of Phoenix. As part of the deal, Mesa City will give Google a property tax break of $16 million over 25 years under a Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET) that replaces a real property tax with an excise tax.
