Data center company QTS are planning a 92-acre project in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in Washington, USA. As per the plan for this project, QTS will lease space in its data center to other companies and leverage transpacific communication cables to provide better network and connectivity.
QTS say that they had chosen Hillsboro as the location to start their new project since the governing bodies in the region provided tax reliefs. However, QTS claim that the focus of the governing bodies has now moved from tax-breaks to employment generation after the tax amends were made.
Speaking about this, Dan Dias, Hillsboro city’s Economic Development Director said:
This was a way to, I would say, refine the overall program. There is a focus on jobs with that policy change.
QTS claim that they have adopted the state’s economic development program to not only improve the employment scenario in the region but also to tap a huge growth opportunity. They claim that Hillsboro remains an attractive destination in spite of the rollback in tax breaks since it provides great connectivity globally via transpacific communication cables that run through the city.
Speaking about the project, Larry Holt, Vice President of Business Development for Regional Economic Agency Greater Portland Inc., commented:
Data centers may not care for the new, more expensive approach. But that doesn’t cause the economic development community much consternation, because data centers aren’t significant employers. We want to see new employers come in that bring good, middle-wage jobs.