Apple to Build $1 Billion Server Farm in NC

MacRumors · Jul 7, 2009, 05:15 PM

Apple's plans for a $1 billion server farm in North Carolina has been officially announced.

Quote:

:“This opportunity is… fabulous,” Catawba County Economic Development President Scott Millar said at a joint meeting of county commissioners and Maiden town council. “We went after it very hard.”

In order to attract Apple to the location, North Carolina offered a $46 million tax break over the next 10 years. Negotiations over the data center have been ongoing since September. The benefits to the local economy include 50 full time jobs, 250 indirect jobs, as well as an impact of up to 3,000 jobs in related industries.

The location will involve the construction of a 500,000 square foot building and is expected to be completed in 2010. The exact usage for the location has not been revealed. While Apple makes the bulk of its income through hardware sales, the company has increasingly been positioning itself as a services company that may require large server farms to support.

Article Link: Apple to Build $1 Billion Server Farm in NC

thegoldenmackid · 05:17 PM

Was this not reported like a couple of months ago?

NVM, I'm not thinking...anyway I guess the servers will join me in North Carolina.

APG · Jul 7, 2009, 05:17 PM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Yeah, but now it's confirmed

Peace · Jul 7, 2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegoldenmackid

Was this not reported like a couple of months ago?

Sort of. Now it's official.

kkat69 · Jul 7, 2009, 05:21 PM

Wife's brother went to bid on the construction of the site, but looks like someone undercut their bid. Oh well, that's business.

Good luck NC.

Tower-Union · Jul 7, 2009, 05:28 PM

C'mon 1080p over iTunes. . . and larger selection. . . and an new AppleTV

KingYaba · Jul 7, 2009, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tower-Union

C'mon 1080p over iTunes. . .

Good luck with that.

HkyNC · Jul 7, 2009, 05:44 PM

I live in the area and hoping Apple can twist AT&T into finally putting 3G service in the area.

iAlexG · Jul 7, 2009, 05:51 PM

I would love to get Apple TV when there is more HD Content available. Then it would be a more worthwhile investment.

gilkisson · Jul 7, 2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HkyNC

I live in the area and hoping Apple can twist AT&T into finally putting 3G service in the area.

I think that's a safe bet. One AT&T tower, right nearby.

Or, perhaps more likely, the Apple NC Campus will be covered with WiFi.

Can't have all those iPhones living on the Edge, can we?

AidenShaw · Jul 7, 2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iAlexG

I would love to get Apple TV when there is more HD Content available. Then it would be a more worthwhile investment.

Do you mean "more 5 Mbps 720p 'HD' content", or "more HD content"?

Until downloads increase the bit rate and quality, I'll stick with OTA and BD.

cg0def · Jul 7, 2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by APG

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Yeah, but now it's confirmed

And it's a really slow news day ... anyway, I'd rather read about how apple's stock is falling than a post about something that was announced 6 months ago ( and FYI it was official even back then ).

DELLsFan · Jul 7, 2009, 06:03 PM

Congratulations, North Carolina! Now that Apple has landed that sweet deal on their taxes for 10 years, who's going to pick up that slack, pay for all those unlisted expenses ... you know, the ones to pay for the police, pay to fix the roads, the schools? Who's going to fork over all those taxes Apple would have otherwise paid? That's right ... YOU are! I hope it's worth it.

Oh, and who wants to bet they'll pull the plug on this server farm in 2020 - looking for someone else to kiss their Apple?

BBCWatcher · Jul 7, 2009, 06:05 PM

North Carolina taxpayers are quite literally paying all of Apple's labor costs for this data center for 10 years. A $46 million tax break over 10 years is equal to $92,000 per year per direct employee.

That seems like an awfully poor return on investment for taxpayers.

Also bear in mind that Apple doesn't actually need the $46 million. Apple has a couple tens of billions sitting in the bank already. It is an extremely profitable company.

liquidfuel · Jul 7, 2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HkyNC

I live in the area and hoping Apple can twist AT&T into finally putting 3G service in the area.

3G service is supposed to be available there by Sept. 15, 2009.

gilkisson · 06:09 PM

Before you criticize too quickly, come visit that portion of NC. Look at the jobs available. Look at the per-capita income.

This is a win for the entire region.

Eriamjh1138@DAN · Jul 7, 2009, 06:13 PM

$1 billion in XServes? Apple should use Dells.

clayj · Jul 7, 2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBCWatcher

North Carolina taxpayers are quite literally paying all of Apple's labor costs for this data center for 10 years. A $46 million tax break over 10 years is equal to $92,000 per year per direct employee.

That seems like an awfully poor return on investment for taxpayers.

Also bear in mind that Apple doesn't actually need the $46 million. Apple has a couple tens of billions sitting in the bank already. It is an extremely profitable company.

A lot of us NC taxpayers are pretty pissed off about this whole thing, actually. Our state has become (in)famous for throwing vast sums of taxpayer dollars at companies like Google and Dell and getting very little in return -- certainly not enough to make up for our "investment". And the jobs at the Maiden facility will almost certainly all be low-paying technician jobs.

iPhoneNYC · Jul 7, 2009, 06:22 PM

I guess the bulk of the jobs are in the construction. But any job is quite welcome right now.

ltud · Jul 7, 2009, 06:29 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the state government is giving them a tax break, how is that costing the state money? They are just reducing the amount of tax Apple will pay, in order to entice them to NC.

Unless the server farm places more strain on the NC infrastructure than the balance of the tax bill, then the state is still ahead.

We have a similar situation in my city, the mayor gave a large corporation a tax break to convince them to build a facility out near the city line, rather than in another city. The construction of this facility will cost the city no money, and create jobs, yet people complain about it, I don't understand.

guzhogi · Jul 7, 2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eriamjh1138@DAN

$1 billion in XServes? Apple should use Dells.

I don't know the details, but I'm sure the $1 billion is not just for the servers, but also to buy the land, cost of building the actual building, etc.

Jayomat · Jul 7, 2009, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzhogi

I don't know the details, but I'm sure the $1 billion is not just for the servers, but also to buy the land, cost of building the actual building, etc.

Glideslope · Jul 7, 2009, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBCWatcher

North Carolina taxpayers are quite literally paying all of Apple's labor costs for this data center for 10 years. A $46 million tax break over 10 years is equal to $92,000 per year per direct employee.

That seems like an awfully poor return on investment for taxpayers.

Also bear in mind that Apple doesn't actually need the $46 million. Apple has a couple tens of billions sitting in the bank already. It is an extremely profitable company.

Obviously you have never been to this part of NC. 10 years from now an entire High Tech Microcosm will occupy what is currently nothing.

This is how the world works. NC Taxpayers are not investors unless NC sells bonds to back the cuts. I have read nothing on this.

Kudos to NC. They put up one hell of a fight.

Rocketman · Jul 7, 2009, 06:45 PM

I want to be their neighbor and run fiber to their CO.

That ought to cover my iTunes and App store download requirements.

Rocketman

Glideslope · Jul 7, 2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clayj

A lot of us NC taxpayers are pretty pissed off about this whole thing, actually. Our state has become (in)famous for throwing vast sums of taxpayer dollars at companies like Google and Dell and getting very little in return -- certainly not enough to make up for our "investment". And the jobs at the Maiden facility will almost certainly all be low-paying technician jobs.

Ah yes, I see. You're the type who prefers the low paying Chinese, or Malaysian Tech Jobs?

Wake up. This is your future without a post graduate or preferably a doctoral degree.

Jul 7, 2009, 05:16 PM	#2
thegoldenmackid macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Plano, TX/Winston-Salem, NC	Was this not reported like a couple of months ago? NVM, I'm not thinking...anyway I guess the servers will join me in North Carolina. __________________ themacfeed.com KRK Powered peace[darfur Help my external hard drive guide. Last edited by thegoldenmackid : Jul 7, 2009 at 05:17 PM. Reason: I'm an idiot.

Jul 7, 2009, 05:21 PM	#5
kkat69 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Atlanta, Ga	Wife's brother went to bid on the construction of the site, but looks like someone undercut their bid. Oh well, that's business. Good luck NC. __________________ iMac 2.8ghz (Mid 07) \| MB SR 2.2ghz (White) \| 80g iPod Classic \| 2g iPod Nano \| Canon Rebel Xti \| 8g iPhone3G \| 16g iPhone3G

Jul 7, 2009, 05:44 PM	#8
HkyNC macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2009	Re: Server Farm in NC I live in the area and hoping Apple can twist AT&T into finally putting 3G service in the area.

Jul 7, 2009, 05:51 PM	#9
iAlexG macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Clermont FL	I would love to get Apple TV when there is more HD Content available. Then it would be a more worthwhile investment. __________________ 13" Macbook Pro 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD 32GB Ipod Touch 2nd Gen My Site: http://macapps.tumblr.com/

Jul 7, 2009, 06:03 PM	#13
DELLsFan macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New England, USA	Congratulations, North Carolina! Now that Apple has landed that sweet deal on their taxes for 10 years, who's going to pick up that slack, pay for all those unlisted expenses ... you know, the ones to pay for the police, pay to fix the roads, the schools? Who's going to fork over all those taxes Apple would have otherwise paid? That's right ... YOU are! I hope it's worth it. Oh, and who wants to bet they'll pull the plug on this server farm in 2020 - looking for someone else to kiss their Apple? __________________ Dell Vostro A90 Aluminum iMac 7,1 iPhone 3G AEBS TV

Jul 7, 2009, 05:17 PM	#3
APG macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2009	Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16) Yeah, but now it's confirmed

Jul 7, 2009, 05:28 PM	#6
Tower-Union macrumors regular Join Date: May 2009	C'mon 1080p over iTunes. . . and larger selection. . . and an new AppleTV

Jul 7, 2009, 06:05 PM	#14
BBCWatcher macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2008	Tax Dollars at Work North Carolina taxpayers are quite literally paying all of Apple's labor costs for this data center for 10 years. A $46 million tax break over 10 years is equal to $92,000 per year per direct employee. That seems like an awfully poor return on investment for taxpayers. Also bear in mind that Apple doesn't actually need the $46 million. Apple has a couple tens of billions sitting in the bank already. It is an extremely profitable company.

Jul 7, 2009, 06:08 PM	#16
gilkisson macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: South Carolina	Before you criticize too quickly, come visit that portion of NC. Look at the jobs available. Look at the per-capita income. This is a win for the entire region. __________________ ... to be determined ... Last edited by gilkisson : Jul 7, 2009 at 06:09 PM. Reason: "too" versus "to"... duh

Jul 7, 2009, 06:13 PM	#17
Eriamjh1138@DAN macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: BFE, MI	$1 billion in XServes? Apple should use Dells. __________________ iBeaker

Jul 7, 2009, 06:22 PM	#19
iPhoneNYC macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Nov 2007	I guess the bulk of the jobs are in the construction. But any job is quite welcome right now.

Jul 7, 2009, 06:29 PM	#20
ltud macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2004	Taxes Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the state government is giving them a tax break, how is that costing the state money? They are just reducing the amount of tax Apple will pay, in order to entice them to NC. Unless the server farm places more strain on the NC infrastructure than the balance of the tax bill, then the state is still ahead. We have a similar situation in my city, the mayor gave a large corporation a tax break to convince them to build a facility out near the city line, rather than in another city. The construction of this facility will cost the city no money, and create jobs, yet people complain about it, I don't understand.

Jul 7, 2009, 06:45 PM	#24
Rocketman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Claremont, CA	I want to be their neighbor and run fiber to their CO. That ought to cover my iTunes and App store download requirements. Rocketman __________________ Think Different-ly! Looking for an iPhone dev with way too much time on her hands for BASIC programs I have.

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