Facebook’s efforts to grow and expand its social networking have landed the company in Prineville, Oregon.
Governor Ted Kulongoski, along with local leaders, and Facebook employees, announced the construction of a 200,000 square foot data center in Prineville today. The project is essentially a server hub that helps keep the company online and allows it to expand its reach.
“This is one of the largest economic development projects Central Oregon has ever seen, and one that will have immediate impact on the local economy,” said Jason Carr, Prineville’s Economic Development Manager.
Facebook put on a formal event at the site of the data center to announce details of the project, which will be located near the Prineville airport. Construction is expected to begin by the first of the year, which will create nearly 200 jobs over a 2-3 year period – a big boost to a county with 18% unemployment. And Facebook says it will employ mainly local contractors to do the work.
Once complete, Facebook will have about 35-50 full-time people with average wages of $50,000 per year. The City of Prineville is also expected to gain financially from the deal, mainly through franchise fees. Basically, the city charges a 5% fee for Pacific Power to use right-of-way for its power lines and other equipment.
“Once the data center is finished, the city could see up to $450,000 per year in new revenue through the franchise fees. That’s a huge number for a city of 10,000,” said Carr.
Many people may ask why Facebook, a company located in the Bay area, would choose Prineville for the site of its data center. Prineville is attractive for a numbers of reason, including competitively priced industrial land, tax incentives, and a dry, moderate climate.
The climate is important because the thousands of servers inside the building put off an incredible amount of heat. Most data centers cool their facilities through air-conditioning, and water-cooling towers. But to help with efficiency and cut down on costs, Facebook will be installing an intake system, which basically pulls the outside air into the building for cooling. Facebook says Prineville’s climate is perfect for that system.
Carr says many people don’t realize the magnitude of this project and the immediate and future impact a company like Facebook will have on Crook County.
“Facebook is a huge name, and having a company like that in our community puts Prineville on the map,” explained Carr.
“Once you land a project like that, chances are you’ll see additional investment from future expansion, along with your ability to attract other companies in the future.”
Carr says this project is about diversifying Prineville’s economy. It’s certainly not the only answer, but it goes a long way in providing family-wage jobs to an area that’s lost so many timber jobs over the past two decades.
