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Small NY Town Braces for $1B Data Center

The small farm town of Cambria, New York is preparing for construction of a $1 billion HSBC data center project.

Quincy, Washington isn't the only farming town of 5,000 people that's facing changes driven by huge data center projects. The town of Cambria, New York finds itself in a similar situation after its selection as the site of a huge HSBC data center. The 275,000 square foot facility will be built near Cambria's southern border with Pendleton, according to tax documents, with the flexibility for expansion to 350,000 square feet. The global bank will spend about $110 million to build the facility, and expects to spend $55.5 million a year for 15 years on technology, for a total investment in Cambria of $944.5 million.

The town's preparation for the massive project was recently profiled by the Niagara Gazette.

The construction of a $1 billion HSBC data center will bring a highly technical development to a town that doesn't have a McDonald's and has tried to stay true to its rural past. The town seems to be in favor of the project. A few people spoke out against the tax breaks the bank will receive during a public hearing but opposition to the project itself never materialized. While the company will save $89.5 million in taxes, most of that sales tax on equipment, it will add $14.5 million to town, school district and county coffers in property tax payments over 15 years.

The bank hasn't set a start date, but the article notes that the local real estate market is already picking up, reflecting trends seen in Quincy, which wiill soon be home to more than 2 million square feet of data center space.