Facebook and North Carolina are now friends.
The social-networking site with more than 500 million users will construct a $450 million data center in Rutherford County, Facebook executives and government officials announced Thursday. The company joins Apple, Google and IBM, which have all have previously announced plans to construct data centers in North Carolina.
The center will not generate a significant number of jobs despite the company’s large investment. Facebook is expect to employ just 42 people at the site, The (Raleigh) News and Observer reported.
Still, the state government anticipates that the state will benefit from the company’s presence. Gov. Bev Perdue said in a press release that the investment will confirm the state’s distinction as a global business destination.
During the data center’s 18-month construction, the facility will hire about 250 construction and mechanical workers, according to the state’s press release. The state and Facebook’s leadership collaborated for about a year to finalize the project’s details.
Facebook will receive $1.4 million in incentives from the county government and is eligible for an economic development grant worth $10 million if the company reaches investment goals, The News and Observer reported.
The building will meet LEED gold standards—its “innovative cooling and power management technologies” is expected to make it one of the most efficient data centers in the United States, the press release noted.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.