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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,288
30,363


Bloomberg reports that Apple has paid a North Carolina couple $1.7 million for their modest home on one acre of land in a deal to enable the company to build its $1 billion data center in the town of Maiden.
Apple Inc. needed land owned by Donnie and Kathy Fulbright for a $1 billion data center in rural North Carolina. The couple showed no interest in moving out of their home of 34 years in the town of Maiden.

The Fulbrights say they spurned one offer, then a second. Finally, they agreed to sell for $1.7 million, county records show, opting to leave the single-story house on the less than one acre of land they purchased for $6,000.
The Fulbrights have used the proceeds of the sale to purchase a 4,200-square-foot house on a 49-acre property.

Meanwhile, Apple appears to be continuing to ramp up staffing for the new data center, with nine new job postings going up earlier this week, primarily focusing on weekend shift positions. Apple made a hiring push earlier this year as it sought to line up staff in advance of the data center's opening and has continued posting occasional job listings in the intervening months, but this week's batch seems to be the largest in many months.


093050-nc_data_center_oct_10_hiring.jpg


Apple announced during its July earnings conference call that the new data center will be operational by the end of the year. While the company has not announced what the new capacity will be used for, observers have speculated that it may be used for cloud-based storage of users' music and video content, as well as for streaming of video content such as on the new Apple TV.

Article Link: Apple Preps for NC Data Center Launch, Paid $1.7 Million to Couple for 1-Acre Plot
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
should have held out for more...

Risky, in case Apple finds another stretch of land to build their data centre. Can you imagine how you would kick yourself if you had refused a $1.7 million offer and then the offer is gone?
 

johnnymg

macrumors 65816
Nov 16, 2008
1,318
7
Should turn this into a reality TV show ........... ala the Clampett's move to Beverly Hills. :)
 

Gasu E.

macrumors 603
Mar 20, 2004
5,029
3,145
Not far from Boston, MA.
I've had enough of these real estate squatters and land trolls. I think if someone owns a piece of valuable land and doesn't develop it within 2 years, they should lose the rights to that land. It's ridiculous for Apple and others to have to pay these ransoms.

/satire ;)
 

kingtj

macrumors 68030
Oct 23, 2003
2,606
749
Brunswick, MD
Heck, I'm just surprised ....

.. Apple didn't run to the govt. and have the couple's home seized under "eminent domain", claiming they were obstructing an important project that would bring in needed jobs and tax revenue to all the locals!

That seems to be the new "standard" for robbing people of their property rights these days ....
 

heyydude

macrumors newbie
Aug 16, 2004
1
0
What if...

What if Apple decided some "PayBack" was in order, and is now going to get into the Search business a la Google?

Just a thought... Seems like Google has used their access to Apple to stick it to them over the last couple of years, maybe Steve is mad enough to want some revenge.

I'd pop some popcorn over this one... :D
 

MTShipp

macrumors 6502a
Mar 25, 2009
824
182
Raleigh, North Carolina
Lucky

That couple is VERY lucky. Using eminent domain, the county/State could have taken their land from them and given them fair market value. It happens a lot when big businesses move in (ex. Walmart).

Business tells gov't that the taxes collected outweigh the residential value and BAMM!, it's whisked away from the owner.
 

spice weasel

macrumors 65816
Jul 25, 2003
1,255
9
That couple is VERY lucky. Using eminent domain, the county/State could have taken their land from them and given them fair market value. It happens a lot when big businesses move in (ex. Walmart).

Business tells gov't that the taxes collected outweigh the residential value and BAMM!, it's whisked away from the owner.

Yup, a la Kelo v New London. It's disgusting. But at least in this case Maiden, NC did not attempt eminent domain proceedings and the couple was paid very handsomely.

But who the hell needs 4,200 sq. feet for just two people?
 

gleepskip

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2005
636
1,696
I would guess operational next year?

I must have Star Wars on the brain. Your rhetorical question somehow made me visualize the conversation aboard the Death Star when Tarkin says,

"Prince Ballmer, before your dismisal I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No operating system will dare oppose the Emperor now.

"In a way, you have determined the choice of the OS that'll be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Win7 code base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power... on Windows Phone 7."
 

LucasLand

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2002
756
92
New England
anyone who should suggest that eminent domain should be used to take away someone's home so some rich developer can have it , is a royal piece of garbage.

There is so much open land in this country, they can go elsewhere. Let them open a data center in the middle of north dakota.

Same thing happened in New London, CT. After developer got land, they changed their mind cause of recession.

On the flip side, these people probably dont know what to do with this amount of money. i bet they blow through it, and one day will not have anything left but some high property tax bill they cant afford.
 

BobbyCarbn

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2009
155
0
Apple does the right thing here and still the trolls emerge from under the bridge....:rolleyes:
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
Should turn this into a reality TV show ........... ala the Clampett's move to Beverly Hills. :)

Perhaps you're just making this comment in jest. But it reeks of snobbery to imply that because they lived in NC and lived modestly that they are automatically akin to the Clampetts.
 

NebulaClash

macrumors 68000
Feb 4, 2010
1,810
0
Apple does the right thing here and still the trolls emerge from under the bridge....:rolleyes:

Yup, Apple does the free market honorable thing, and gets little credit. If they had used the eminent domain deal, they would be slammed. That's the Apple way. Do good and it's "eh." Do bad and it's "evil."
 
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