The tech giant purchased the land, located in the Botetourt Center at Greenfield, for around $14 million.
“Google has invested significantly in the Commonwealth, and I am proud that they have chosen Botetourt County as the site of their newest data center,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a county news release.
Data centers house the computer and networking equipment that companies like Google rely on to provide their services. These facilities generate “significant tax revenue” without causing the locality to have to accommodate for a larger work force, the release said. The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, the county Economic Development Authority and Google agreed to a performance agreement Tuesday, covering 20 years of taxation for the potential project’s server equipment.
“We are always looking for communities that have the innovative and collaborative leadership necessary to bring complex projects like data center campuses to life, and we are optimistic about the partnership we’ve built so far with Botetourt and the entire Roanoke region,” said Amber Tillman, Google head of data center public affairs, North America,
In addition to the funds used to purchase the land, Google is providing an additional $4 million over the next five years to support a variety of community projects, for a total of around $18 million. Included in those many projects are $2 million to Botetourt County Public Schools for capital projects, $2.5 million to the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office for Axon body cameras and less-lethal weapons, $1.1 million for three ambulances, $3.5 million for the Buchanan Branch library renovation and more. All of these projects were scheduled to be funded with county revenues.
The data center, if developed, would pay an annual property tax rate of 70 cents per $100 of assessed value, and Google will begin paying property taxes in 2025.
“When the County decided to develop what was then a first-of-its kind business park in Western Virginia, the vision was to attract advanced technology businesses from around the world that would create new economic opportunities for county residents, expand and diversify the county’s taxbase, and support and become partners in our community,” Supervisor Steve Clinton said in the news release.
The land is already zoned for industrial use, and under that zoning, the building could be up to 60 feet tall. At this stage, it is unclear how large the potential data center will be, or when construction could begin. Any necessary electrical upgrades or water improvements will be paid by Google, not by rate payers, according to the county.
The county has been working on this project for 18 months, County Administrator Gary Larrowe said. Throughout the process, it partnered with the Roanoke Regional Partnership, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Appalachian Power Co. The entire Roanoke region and possibly all of Western Virginia will benefit from this development if it moves forward, Roanoke Regional Partnership Executive Director John Hull said.
“The emerging AI industry will be a huge economic driver in the coming decades, and this investment by Google shows that the Roanoke region could be in the forefront of developing this new technology,” Hull said. “The Roanoke Regional Partnership is proud to have worked closely with Botetourt County, our regional utility partners and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to develop this opportunity with Google.”
The data center would expand opportunities available to county residents and drive change in the county, Larrowe said.
“A data center campus also allows us to become a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in rural communities due to this partnership with Google,” Larrowe said in the release. The project also comes as a long-planned wind farm is set to begin construction soon. Google has already signed on to buy electricity generated from the Apex Clean Energy project for its data centers.
Roughly 2,200 people already work in the Botetourt Center at Greenfield. While it’s too early in the process to know exactly how many people Google will directly employ at the data center, the county believes neither the construction or operation of the data center would significantly increase the daily volume of traffic on U.S. 220, according to the county. However, the jobs created, both direct and indirect, are expected to still be “substantial,” Hull said.
“I see this driving a start of the future,” Larrowe said.
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