Dive Brief:
- Data center giant Switch Communications has selected Michigan contractor The Christman Co. as the general contractor for its new $5 billion center in Grand Rapids, MI, according to MiBiz.
- Switch executives said work has already begun on the 680,000-square-foot former Steelcase pyramid building, and they anticipate data center and office operations will begin later this year. The entire project, however, could take up to 10 years to complete, MiBiz reported.
- Michigan expedited the tax break legislation Switch insisted on — for itself and its co-located clients — prior to making a binding commitment to a facility in West Michigan. Switch, in turn, must add 400 jobs by 2022 and 1,000 jobs by 2026 for the tax breaks, including exemption from state sales and use taxes, to continue.
Dive Insight:
Despite a nationwide labor shortage, Switch Executive Vice President of Strategy Adam Kramer told MiBiz the company has been able to mobilize local construction crews.
"There is an incredible workforce in West Michigan and we’ve been able to hire all local contractors," Kramer told MiBiz.
Switch has more than eight million square feet of data centers in Las Vegas and Reno, NV, but the company said it decided to build a data center in Michigan — its first facility in the eastern U.S. — because of the state’s weather and lack of natural disasters. Switch also said the new building location is within the "millisecond protocols" needed to serve major markets.
However, not everyone is thrilled with the Switch deal. Critics said similar tax breaks have been denied to other industries, like the recent elimination of film industry tax incentives. Opponents also said that under previous such programs, businesses have redeemed larger than anticipated tax credits, creating shortfalls in the state budget.
