Verizon considers putting mega data center in Laramie

Verizon Communications Inc. is interested in a 160-acre parcel of land 1 mile north of Laramie for the possible location of a mega data center that could create up to 200 jobs, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

Verizon spokeswoman Lynn Staggs said her company is in the process of acquiring a two-year option on the parcel, which is owned by Lodgepole Ranch LLC and has access from North 30th Street and from the west along Asphalt Lane.

Staggs reiterated that Verizon is only looking into purchasing the property and hasn’t committed to anything yet.

“This is just an option for the land at this point,” she said. “We have not made any decisions about locating a data center there. We have over 250 data centers around the globe … so (Laramie) is just another location that we’re looking to position a data center.”

Staggs said Verizon does not have a firm timeline on moving forward with purchasing the land.

However, she said construction of the mega data center would begin within a few months of Verizon’s acquisition of the parcel.

“I think once the decision was made, we would move pretty quickly,” she said.

The 160-acre parcel was made available for purchase when the Albany County Commissioners approved a zone-change application Nov. 16.

A copy of the county planner’s report says the mega data processing center would create 120 highly technical computer-programming jobs and 80 information technology and grounds-maintenance positions.

Staggs said the mega data center would not create 200 jobs overnight.

“The way we typically do these things is it’s usually a phased-in approach,” she said.

“We would build one building, and as business dictated, we could grow that. So I think that number is probably sort of a maximum-employment number.”

The report says the center would be congruent with the Albany County Comprehensive Plan.

The 160-acre parcel is split between what the comprehensive plan categorizes as Priority Growth Area 4 (PGA4) and Priority Growth Area 1 (PGA1).

The report says PGA1 mirrors the city’s Urban Growth Area, which designates the southern half of the parcel as acceptable for residential or urban development.

Verizon Communications is a global broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in New York City

To see the original Article by The Laramie Boomerang please Click Here