What we uncovered about Charlotte area data centers: Power, prosperity and a puzzle

Quite a few counties across the Charlotte region in both Carolinas see data centers as economic boons. Still some can’t — or won’t — answer a basic question: How many data centers do you have?

The Charlotte Observer contacted 14 North Carolina counties and three in South Carolina in the Charlotte region to determine the number of operating, planned and under construction data centers. All but four counties —Anson, Burke, Cabarrus, and Lancaster, S.C. — responded, although not all responses were complete.

In other words, finding a definitive source on the number of local data centers remains elusive.

There are at least 22 data centers in the region, according to the counties. But their numbers don’t match other, non-governmental sources.

Mecklenburg alone accounts for 12 of them, according to the county’s response. The data centers are managed by eight companies: Charlotte Colocation Center LLC, Digital Realty Trust, Flexential, OneMagnify, Segra, Tier Point, Verizon and Vintage Labeling Systems Metro.

There are seven data centers in Cleveland County, one in Catawba and two in Caldwell County, according to responses to the Observer.

Three more data centers in Rowan, Iredell and York, S.C., counties have been approved or are under construction, according to those counties.

Chicago-based real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield’s annual Americas Data Center Update report offers a broader perspective.

This year for the first time, the Carolinas were included in the report, listed as an up-and-coming “secondary market.” According to that report, the Charlotte region, which includes the Rock Hill area, has 38 data centers.

Data centers as an economic boost

With investments as much as $1 billion in communities such as QTS in York County, South Carolina, and the $10 billion Amazon is spending in Richmond County, data centers are still seen as huge economic drivers by many community leaders in the Carolinas.

South of Charlotte, Chester County, South Carolina, is actively pursuing data center projects to boost its tax base and create high-paying jobs. Although no projects have “quite landed yet,” data centers are capital-intensive projects, said Robert Long, director of Chester County Economic Development.

A data center may only generate around a dozen permanent jobs, as is the case with the QTS project. But the positions pay well, Long said, averaging up to $120,000 annually. In rural Chester County, that’s nearly triple the average annual salary of about $46,648.

Counties in the Charlotte region that already have embraced data center development have touted the economic benefits, as well.

Ashley Bolick, director of the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, called the county near Hickory “the beginning of the data center corridor” in North Carolina. Google’s 337,000-square-foot hyperscale facility in Lenoir opened in 2008.

As a result, Google is Caldwell’s largest taxpayer, with an assessed tax value on the data center of about $1.2 billion. These taxes provide a substantial increase in taxable property, Bolick said, and lessen the burden on residents for funding essential services.

Google also has been a good corporate citizen through volunteer work and training programs, she said, particularly during the Great Recession when it trained former textile workers for data center jobs.

Over in neighboring Catawba County, Apple has operated the region’s largest data center since 2010 in Maiden. It has four main buildings and several smaller ones totaling over 1 million square feet.

North Carolina also is part of Apple’s $500 billion U.S. expansion plans, although it has not yet disclosed what it’s plans are for North Carolina.

The tax benefits have been substantial, with Maiden seeing its tax rate drop from 40 cents to 38 cents, while funding a community center, town hall and emergency services, according to Scott Millar, the Catawba County Economic Development Corp. president

And Microsoft is committed to a $1 billion data center expansion in Catawba County.

Cleveland County also helped pave the way for data centers in North Carolina, recruiting Disney, AT&T and the T5 Data Center Park in 2013, county economic development director Courtney Ashley said.

While these legacy centers have lower electricity requirements than more recent facilities, Ashley said they significantly diversified and stabilized the local economy after the decline of the textile industry.

NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer’s commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com