PRINEVILLE, OR -- Prineville is preparing for major growth of Facebook’s data center. The social media giant plans to nearly double its footprint, with construction of two more data halls. Mayor Betty Roppe says she’s known for several months but waited to talk publicly until Facebook made its announcement, Tuesday morning.
The new facilities will take the total building count to five, in Prineville. Roppe says crews are already preparing for construction, including getting water, sewer, electricity and other necessary infrastructure to the massive site. "We make sure that we have adequate water, we make sure that we have adequate space for any infrastructure that we need, and we also are always meeting continuously with our electricity companies. We wouldn’t make a commitment that we couldn’t fulfill and still have ample ability to serve our customers – our citizens." Crook County recently sold 240 acres to Facebook, adjacent to its current campus, for $5.4 million.
Mayor Roppe tells KBND News, "They’re making a tremendous commitment to our community. We have construction workers going to be working on construction for the next four years; we also will have permanent long-term jobs available for people in our community." She isn’t sure exactly how many permanent jobs are coming, but she’s optimistic of the impact, "One of the things we always have is a minimum number of jobs something will create. They’ve always surpassed those minimums."