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Facebook revealed Nov. 11 that it plans to build its second data center in North Carolina.
In a joint announcement with the world’s largest social networking Website, Gov. Bev Perdue said that the new $450 million facility will be located near Forest City in Rutherford County, about 75 miles west of Charlotte.
Facebook’s first wholly owned data center is currently under construction in Prineville, Ore., and scheduled to open next year.
Since it started in 2004, Facebook has co-located all its servers in various data center service centers and has been planning to build its own data centers for a few years.
Forest City, formerly known as Burnt Chimney, is a town with about 7,600 residents.
The planned Facebook data center is expected to create more than 250 construction and mechanical jobs during its 18-month building phase. When construction is completed, the data center will employ 35 to 45 full-time and contract workers, Facebook said.
“We are proud that Facebook chose to make North Carolina a ‘friend.’ The feeling is certainly mutual,” Perdue said. “The investment and jobs at the data center will be a boon to that region of the state, and will help confirm North Carolina’s distinction as a global business destination.”
Perdue said the state has been working with Facebook representatives for about a year to help bring together the land, utilities and incentives to make the project a success.
North Carolina is becoming a destination site for other data center projects. Apple, Google and IBM also have announced their intentions to build in the state.