Microsoft Confirms Huge San Antonio Center

Microsoft on Thursday confirmed plans to build a 470,000 square foot data center project in San Antonio, making it official after the San Antonio City Council approved a $20.7 million tax abatement package. Mike Manos, senior director of Microsoft Data Center Services, said the two-building complex will operate around the clock housing Web pages, e-mail and instant message servers, and all kinds of Web-based applications. Microsoft says it will invest at least $550 million in the project, and said that estimate could be conservative.

The software giant is scaling up its data center infrastructure as it moved to a “software as a service” model focused around delivering consumer and business services through web portals like Office Live. Microsoft broke ground last June on a 75-acre data storage facility in Quincy, Washington which could eventually psan 1.4 million square feet.

The project still must go before the Bexar County Commissioners Court, which is expected to approve a similar package of incentives. The tax abatement was approved for 44 acres of undeveloped land in the Westover Hills development at 5150 Rogers Road. The city is also asking CPS Energy to approve up to $5.2 million in assistance to help pay for electrical infrastructure for the project.

San Antonio Mulls $25M Package for Microsoft

The San Antonio City Council will consider giving Microsoft a 10-year tax abatement valued at $20 million to gain a commitment for a massive 470,000 square foot data center, according to local media reports. The tax abatement is being considered for 44 acres in the Westover Hills development at 5150 Rogers Road. The city is also asking CPS Energy to approve up to $5.2 million in assistance to help pay for electrical infrastructure for the project from CPS Energy’s Community Infrastructure and Economic Development Fund. The incentive package will be considered in a meeting today.

Reports of the cost of Microsoft’s project have ranged from $600 million up to $980 million. Mike Manos, senior director of Microsoft Data Center Services, placed the company’s investment at $550 million, but said that was a “conservative figure.”

The incentive package needs approval because the center will create only 75 jobs, short of the 500 job miniumum required for an abatement longer than six years. Local economic development officials are pushing hard for approval, saying it is essential to gain a commitment from Microsoft. Winning the Microsoft project would also help establish San Antonio as a destination for enterpise data center development.

Microsoft Texas DC Project Now $1 Billion

In June we noted that Microsoft is considering sites in Texas for a major data center, with San Antonio and Austin in the running. At the time the reported price tag for the project was $600 million. Local media reports have updated the story this weekend, with Microsoft confirming it is “looking at San Antonio for a potential future operations facility. We are still working on our plans in San Antonio so we do not have detailed information to share at this time.”

Of greater interest: the price tag on the project has now risen to $980 million, up nearly $400 million from the original estimates from June. The size of the project - 470,000 square feet - hasn’t changed, either. What’s up with the cost estimate? One possibility is that the original cost estimate of $600 million was incomplete. Another possibility is that the cost is rising along with projected power and cooling costs. At least one other company developing new data centers has experienced this.

ServerBeach Moves Into Larger Data Center

ServerBeach Ltd. announced today that it has relocated its head office and data center operations to a new 18,000 square foot facility in San Antonio, Texas. ServerBeach is a self-managed dedicated hosting subsidiary of PEER 1 Network Enterprises, Inc. The announcement continues a period of strong activity in San Antonio, the site of a new $126 million Lowe’s data center, and reportedly among the potential sites for a huge new Microsoft facility.

ServerBeach said it expanded to keep up with its rapid growth in San Antonio, and with 12,000 square feet of raised floor space and an adjoining 6,000 square feet of office space, the company now has ample room to grow. The facility is ServerBeach’s third data center, provdiing customers with improved options for geographically diverse backups.

Lowe’s Chooses San Antonio for Data Center

Lowe’s has chosen San Antonio as the site of a $126 million data center, contingent upon the approval of an incentive package by the City Council, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Lowe plans to build in the Westover Hills, where Microsoft is also said to be looking at sites for a 470,000-square-foot data center that would employ about 100 people. The newspaper says Paypal may also be scouting potential data center sites in San Antonio.

The Lowe’s center would employ just 25 workers, but use substantial power that would funnel revenue to the city through its utility, CPS Energy. Lowe’s is seeking a 10-year tax abatement on the data center. The project will go before the City Council on Thursday.

Microsoft Eyes Texas for $600M Data Center

Microsoft is exploring sites in Texas for a 470,000 square foot server farm that could cost as much as $600 million to build, according to local media reports. San Antonio and Austin are in the running for the massive facility, according to the San Antonio Express Times, which cited local real estate and economic development sources.

“People close to San Antonio’s talks with Microsoft said its site-selection staff likes the area’s inexpensive electrical power, work force and lack of exposure to natural disasters,” the paper reported. Real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle is said to be working on Microsoft’s behalf and looking in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio.

Lowe’s Eyes San Antonio for Data Center

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. is considering sites for a $68 million data center in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. The proposed 100,000-square-foot data center would employ about 30 people and create as many as 300 construction jobs. The San Antonio region is competing with two states and other Texas locations for the projects, sources said.

“We’re a good community for their data center, but as yet there has been no final announcement,” said Ramiro Cavazos, the city’s economic development director. “We will continue working with Lowe’s and respect their process of decision making, and we’re hopeful they will pick San Antonio.”

Texas Providers Manage Rolling Blackouts

Record-setting spring heat in Texas prompted utilities around to implement rolling blackouts Monday, testing the backup systems for some of the state’s many large data centers. Texas is home to several of the world’s biggest dedicated server and managed hosting providers, including EV1Servers and Vericenter in Houston, The Planet in Dallas, and Rackspace in San Antonio. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the organization that runs the state’s energy grid, issued an emergency call to power companies as temperatures surpassed 90 degrees, cutting off electricity to thousands of Texans with the rolling blackouts that affected homes and businesses.

“As a data center provider, we will always make sure we have the ability to sustain ourselves through any public utility issues,” Michael Landesman, VP of infrastructure operations at Rackspace, told The WHIR. “We don’t want to be at the mercy of anything they’re doing. Which means that if there is a power problem, regardless of whether it’s over utilization, they’ve oversubscribed or whether they just have a local issue, we will always be able to generate and sustain our own power.”