For several months now, Amazon’s plan for an Ohio data center appeared to be up in the air. In late October, however, Ohio Governor John Kasich announced that the e-commerce giant plans to make a $1.1 billion investment in a central Ohio data center.
At a campaign stop, Kasich told the audience that Amazon officials had committed to the Ohio data center project.
“I just met with one of the top officials at Amazon,” Kasich said. “They’re making a billion-dollar investment in cloud computing. So, what is coming is very exciting jobs to Ohio.”
Although Kasich was outspoken about Amazon’s move to Ohio, a company spokesperson was not so candid. In an emailed response, the spokesperson noted that Amazon is always seeking opportunities to grow the company’s geographic reach. However, the comment did not directly mention the Ohio data center.
Amazon’s plans for the facility have been in the works for quite some time. This past August, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority offered the company more than $81 million in data center tax incentives to encourage the initiative, which it referred to as “a significant data center investment” in the state.
Currently, plans for the Ohio facility include the more than $1 billion investment on behalf of Amazon, which would be made over the course of three years. The project would also create an estimated 120 employment opportunities in Central Ohio that would pay workers $80,000 a year on average.
Amazon has also been offered incentives from officials in the Ohio towns of Dublin and Hilliard. These packages include land, real-estate tax abatement and wage-tax rebates. However, Amazon has not confirmed a location for the Ohio data center just yet.
Currently, Amazon has data centers set up in 11 regions throughout the world, four of which are situated in the U.S. The company also recently announced plans for a new German data center.
