Apple is planning to build a large, two-building data center on the 160 acres of land it purchased in February, reveals a new filing with the city of Prineville, OR. The center will be comparable in size to the main building at the Maiden, N.C. facility.
AppleInsiderThe plans, discovered by The Bend Bulletin on Wednesday, call for two large buildings that house so-called “data halls,” with the structures covering over 500,000 square feet of space, reports the Associated Press.
While Apple’s plans don’t nail down a specific start date for construction, a previous statement from the company said the undertaking is projected to generate “hundreds of construction jobs to the area.”
The Prineville project’s exact purpose is unclear, but Apple has broken ground with a 10,000 sq. ft. building expected to house servers. When all building is completed, the project is expected to spread across 107 acres.
Apple has agreed to boost the capacity of the city’s water system, and work is said to be underway to tap an underground water stream for that purpose.
“We will be converting those to production wells, with Apple’s help, and we will reimburse them over time,” said Prineville City Manager Steve Forrester. “It will give them the water they need, and it gives us … more capacity than they are consuming. It strengthens our core system.”
Apple will pay the local city and county governments $150,000 a year in return for a 15-year property tax exemption. Staffing will be a minimum of 35 people, who will be paid wages of up to 150% higher than the local average.
