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SAN
ANTONIO, Texas (January 31, 2007) — The newly created Westover Hills
Reinvestment Zone will consist of approximately 40 acres and exempt
Microsoft from taxes on personal and real property improvements associated
with the center for 10 years.
Microsoft Corp., pending all approvals, plans to invest $550 million to
build a new data center in northwest San Antonio, Texas. The 400,000
square foot facility is expected to have a net fiscal benefit to the city
of more than $20 million over the next 20 years and enhance San Antonio’s
growing information technology industry sector.
An
item designating the Westover Hills Reinvestment Zone to create the data
center was approved by City Council. The zone will consist of
approximately 40 acres and exempt Microsoft from taxes on personal and
real property improvements associated with the center for 10 years. Bexar
County is scheduled to consider a similar tax phase-in next week.
The
“next generation” data center is expected to house large-scale, worldwide
web services for Microsoft’s online services business. Once the center is
completed, Microsoft plans to create 75 full-time jobs paying an average
annual wage of up to $70,000. Microsoft’s use of electricity from CPS
Energy also is expected to generate more than $1.4 million annually in
revenue to the City. An exception was granted in the City’s tax phase-in
guidelines because of Microsoft’s exceptionally large investment and the
projected substantial fiscal benefit to the City from utility revenue.
The
Microsoft project further establishes San Antonio as a location for major
data centers, which tend to cluster within a particular region. A Lowe’s
data center also is currently under construction in northwest San Antonio.
The
information technology industry employs more than 12,000 people in San
Antonio with annual wages of more than $43,000. The annual economic impact
of the IT industry is more than $3.4 billion or seven percent of the local
economy.
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