Apple investment in NC may grow into the billions
Apple Inc’s investment in North Carolina is expected to grow to a total of $2 billion before all is said and done; in return, the state and two counties are providing over $50 million in incentives.
The computer center that Apple is building in Catawba County, North Carolina, has long been reported to be an investment of at least $1 billion. The data center that the Cupertino electronics giant is building there will have approximately 500,000 square feet and will employ about 50 people on a full time basis. As an aside, doing the math, that means that each employee will be responsible for about 10,000 square feet of Apple stuff.
The state of NC went so far as to amend its corporate tax laws to make it possible to lure Apple into its territory, according to a BizJournals story. That is not unusual, of course, but it is still a significant sign of the state’s desire to have Apple in North Carolina. So far, the state has committed $46 million dollars in incentives to Apple. The two counties closest to the site of the data farm have chipped in another $7.3 million.
Now the president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation expects that there will be more investment by Apple to follow, and that the total investment could actually reach $2 billion before all is said and done, plus all of the ancillary revenues that will be generated by the construction and then the operation of the data center, including perhaps 3,000 total local jobs.
The data center is going to be constructed in Maiden, North Carolina, a town of less than 4,000 people. It is located mainly in Catawba County, which has a population of about 150,000. Even in the county, an investment of this size is significant, and will help to improve what has been a poor employment situation. When Apple does something, they do it in a big way, all the better for Maiden, N.C.
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