Another tech company eyeing Prineville

Prineville is a timber town turning into a tech town, with big Facebook and Apple data centers. Now a third tech company is looking to break ground as well.

“We have a private company who owns some land that is just west of the airport, and they’ve come in and said they have somebody talking to them and it sounds like it could be another data center,” Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe said this week.

The two data centers already in place are expanding, and are expected to continue to grow with the city. She says these technology companies will bring jobs, which should be beneficial for the community.

“I’m perfectly comfortable with having four or five technology companies.” Roppe said.

She said the companies are attracted to Prineville because of the cheap land and the weather is perfect for the data centers as temperatures in the night reach in the low 40s.

Residents in Prineville worked in the lumber mills for decades, but with one of the last mills, Woodgrain Millwork, announcing its closure just last month, many residents are left in the dark on how they can find a decent-paying job.

Only time will tell if Prineville with a population of only 9,000 will grow into the technology center some say it should and could be.