Google receives 100% tax exemption for proposed $600 million New Albany data centre
Tue 11 Dec 2018
A subsidiary of Google is considering constructing a $600 million data centre in New Albany, US after receiving a tax credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority
The proposed centre would be built in the Oak Grove II Community Reinvestment Area, which includes New Albany’s business park, on a 447 acre site, covering around 275,000 square feet when complete. Details of the proposed site’s power capacity or PUE have not been disclosed.
Google negotiated tax breaks under the pseudonym Montauk Innovations LLC. The Tax Credit Authority (TCA) approved a 100 percent, 15-year data centre tax sales exemption, with an option for it to be renewed for up to 40 years through October 2058.
If the proposed data centre gets the go-ahead this agreement could land Google $43.5 million over the life of the abatement.
As the costly data centre would only create 30 jobs, questions will no doubt be raised over the rationale behind the TCA’s decision, although city spokesman Scott McAfee said local school districts would benefit from an estimated $1 million in aggregate revenue during the tax-abatement period.
Under the agreement Google (or Montauk) would also be required to generate a minimum of $750,000 in annual revenue for the city per year beginning in 2021, with that amount increasing over time, according to the legislative report.
“Google is considering acquisition of a property in New Albany, OH, and while we do not have a confirmed timeline for development for the site, we want to ensure that we have the option to further grow should our business demand it,” Google spokesperson Charlotte Smith said in an emailed statement to Columbus Business First.
Governer John Kasich is keen for Google to invest in Ohio and join the likes of Amazon and Facebook. Amazon has spent $1.1 billion on data centres in Ohio and a $750 million Facebook data centre is pending in New Albany.
“I told them, we’ve got Amazon, we’ve got Facebook, we’ve got IBM Data Analytics, all we’re missing is Google,” Kasich said. “I think we’re going to see movement on that front as well.”
