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New Microsoft Data Center keeps city's technology sector clicking
City of San Antonio and Bexar County officials announced recently that
Microsoft Corporation plans to invest $550 million to build a new data
center in northwest San Antonio. The 400,000-square-foot facility is
expected to have a net fiscal benefit to the city of more than $20
million over the next 20 years and enhance San Antonio’s growing
information technology industry sector.
City Council approved the Westover Hills Reinvestment Zone to create
the data center. The zone will consist of approximately 40 acres and
exempt Microsoft from ad valorem taxes on personal and real property
improvements associated with the center for 10 years. Bexar County
also approved a similar tax phase-in.
The “next generation” data center is expected to house large-scale,
worldwide web services for Microsoft’s online services business. Once
the center is completed, Microsoft plans to create 75 full-time jobs
paying an average annual wage of up to $70,000. Microsoft’s use of
electricity from CPS Energy also is expected to generate more than
$1.4 million annually in revenue to the City. An exception was granted
in the City’s tax phase-in guidelines because of Microsoft’s
exceptionally large investment and the projected substantial fiscal
benefit to the City from utility revenue.
"Microsoft is a premier name, not just in information technology but
in the corporate world," said Mayor Phil Hardberger. "San Antonio
continues to show that it can be a good fit for companies like
Microsoft because of a variety of competitive advantages we offer,
including low utility rates and a healthy economic base.”
The Microsoft project further establishes San Antonio as a preferred
location for major data centers. Data centers tend to cluster within a
particular region. A Lowe’s data center also is currently under
construction in northwest San Antonio.
"We see this as a great step in the continued diversification of the
local economy,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “Building our
Bexar County high-tech community with a global leader like Microsoft
is something we might have only dreamed of in years past, but we have
the momentum, and I want to keep that going.”
Microsoft, a worldwide leader in software development, was founded in
1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The Fortune 500
Company employs 72,000 and reported net revenues of $44.28 billion in
2006.
“This is more welcome news for San Antonio as we aggressively pursue a
high technology base and the coveted data centers. District 6 is
currently the fastest-growing district in the city and Westover Hills
continues to bring tremendous opportunities to San Antonio,” says
District 6 City Councilwoman Delicia Herrera.
The information technology industry employs more than 12,000 people in
San Antonio with annual wages of more than $43,000. The annual
economic impact of the IT industry is more than $3.4 billion or seven
percent of the local economy.
“When we look at the benefit of projects like Microsoft, we also
consider how all the affected taxing jurisdictions will benefit. In
this case, the company’s $550 million investment
The project supports the City’s Strategic Plan for Enhanced Economic
Development.
“The City continues to utilize a broad-based economic development
strategy that analyzes and targets important industry clusters such as
information technology that provide good-paying jobs and other
economic benefits for San Antonio,” said City Manager Sheryl Sculley.
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