February 5, 2007 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Search engine giant Google (google.com) revealed on Friday details on two South Carolina properties it has been considering to build large data center facilities, located in Berkeley County and the Midlands.
According to reports, the property in Berkeley Country was sold for $17 million in December 2006 by Maguro Enterprises, a company that was later revealed to be linked to Google. Google also confirmed that the data center layout in Blythewood, thought to be proposed by Arum Composites, was actually proposed by the search engine giant itself.
Google spokesman Barry Schnitt says that although he couldn’t verify the numbers, Google is expected to invest at least $600 million and create a minimum of 400 jobs if it settles in Berkeley County. Numbers for the Midlands site were not available.
Schnitt says Google decided to discuss its dealings to clear up rumors that the company was highly secretive and a strong-armed negotiator, according to a report published on Thursday. However, the search engine giant says it had to maintain a certain level of secrecy to ensure competitors wouldn’t learn about its property interests as well potential security issues after site development.
Google says it is looking to add data centers to accommodate its rapidly expanding user base. However, it’s still too early to say when Google could make a final decision about the South Carolina sites.
