Internet giant Yahoo! is moving ahead with its expansion in Lockport. The company’s plans for a second data center in western New York were released back in March, but only received official approval recently.
The second data center is projected to create 115 jobs in addition to the 90 jobs already based at its original location. One-hundred of the new jobs will be in the Yahoo! call center and the other 15 will come from its data center operations.
The new facility will be built in two phases, with the total project to take up more than 240,000 square feet. Town of Lockport officials approved a 20-year tax incentive package that includes $20 million in property tax abatements and $10.7 million in sales tax breaks.
The tax breaks are expected to save Yahoo! more than $30 million.
Town of Lockport Economic Development Director David Kinyon says Yahoo’s presence is already driving a lot of interest from other tech companies interested in relocating to Lockport.
“We continue to negotiate with Yahoo! officials and we’re hopeful that in the long term they will continue to grow both their employment, as well as their footprint in our community,” said Kinyon.
The New York Power Authority will provide 7.2 megawatts of subsidized electricity for the project. Kinyon says that was a major draw for the Internet giant.
“The availability of low cost hydropower for Yahoo! was the major element of getting Yahoo! to consider a western New York location,” said Kinyon.
Yahoo opened its first data center in Lockport back in 2010.