Facebook makes it official: Third Prineville data center on way

Facebook officials made it official Tuesday, announcing they will build a third, larger data center in Prineville after city and Crook County officials approved a new property tax break last week.

Currently, Facebook’s Prineville data centers employ 147 people, of whom about 85 percent live in Prineville or Crook County, company spokesman Lee Weinstein said.

The “footprint” for the new data center is 487,700 square feet, compared to 331,700 square feet for the first data center and 366,000 square feet for Building 2, he said.

The Oregonian reports that makes the new facility Oregon’s biggest data center to date – 40 percent larger than the second one built on the site, and close to three times the size of an average Costco retail warehouse.

The property tax break calls for creating at least 10 new full-time jobs that make at least 150 percent of the average county wage.

The newspaper noted that many large industries rely on tax breaks to cut operating costs, though data centers don’t require many people to operate — just power, water and Internet connectivity.

Similar tax deals also brought Apple to Prineville, as well as Google to The Dalles and Amazon to Morrow County, and have led to similar data center clusters in rural Washington, Iowa and North Carolina.

The new Prineville-Crook County 15-year enterprise zone agreement will save Facebook tens of millions of dollars over the life of the facility. A prior deal saved Facebook more than $30 million in taxes over the past three years, The Oregonian said.

Here’s Facebook’s full announcement — posted on the data center’s Facebook page, of course — by Ken Patchett, the social network giant’s West Region director of data center operations.

The posting begins “We (like) Prineville,” using the familiar blue Facebook thumbs-up “like’ symbol, and continues:

“Five years ago, Facebook broke ground on its first wholly owned data center in Prineville. We’re proud to be a part of this wonderful Crook County community, and to have built one of the most energy efficient and sustainable data centers in the world here. It has served as a prototype for our four subsequent data centers in Forest City, Lulea, Altoona and, soon, Fort Worth.

“Now, we’re happy to announce that we’ll be constructing our third data center building in Prineville, which will represent an additional capital investment in excess of $200 million.

“We expect that data center construction will continue to support thousands of jobs in the regional economy and generate millions of dollars in economic impact as an ECONorthwest study we commissioned last year showed: https://www.facebook.com/notes/prineville-data-center/connecting-the-world-and-making-an-impact/10152103502378133.

“Today, there are 147 people working here – with 85% living in Crook County. Our goals in both construction and the operation of Facebook’s data center in Prineville have always been to make Prineville a priority, be a great neighbor, and assist with the area’s economic development.

“Building 3 will feature the latest Open Compute Project hardware designs — including Yosemite, Wedge, and 6-pack — and, like our other buildings, will be cooled using our cool Central Oregon high desert air instead of energy-intensive air conditioners.

“Our appreciation goes to the City of Prineville, Crook County and the State of Oregon for their support, with deep thanks to the City Council and County Commission, and Mayor Betty Roppe and Judge Mike McCabe; Senators Wyden and Merkley and Congressman Walden; and Representative Mike McLane, Senator Mark Hass and Governor Kate Brown.

“We’re also investing in Crook County and the community where we work: Since 2011, Facebook has donated $1,065,000 to Crook County schools and qualified nonprofits through its Community Action Grants program and local donations, including the support of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. We’re also enjoying volunteering in our schools and more.

“Again, thank you to Prineville and Crook County, for all your support.

Ken

P.S. We have jobs open. Check out https://www.facebook.com/careers/locations/prineville.”