Economic developments in the Charleston metro area

[monsoon]

Some more information in this article. Sounds as if they have already bought the land. The power grid in the Carolinas is pretty good compared to many parts of the country and Duke, Progress, and Santee Cooper can provide lots of power to this project. Water should not be an issue in this part of SC.

[krazeeboi]

Average pay of $90K? We'll take it!

[SimCity]

With the need for abundant nearby sources of power and water, plus the potential for salaries averaging $90,000 a year,it looked to me like it could be a possible R&D/Manufacturing project. However,after checking out CBS station 5 in San Francisco/San Jose it seems that Google has been busy building a number of data processing centers where banks of water cooled computers crunches data for their search engine. Such a facility would indeed require massive amounts of water and power. I noticed also, that Google has technology support offices nearby in Atlanta and the Research Triangle.

[monsoon]

Maybe this isn't a done deal after all. It has come out that NC is offering Google substantial incentives to locate this facility near Lenoir. This is a town about 50-55 miles Northwest of Charlotte at the base of the NC mountains.

[krazeeboi]

Yep, and NC has lost its bargaining advantage by talking openly about the deal according to one SC Dept. of Commerce official. SC stays tightlipped about these types of deals. But Google has definitely confirmed that it is interested in the Goose Creek area.

[SimCity]

This Friday, the secret corporate interests scouting property around the Columbia and Charleston areas were revealed as fronts for Google. The Internet giant has decided to "clear up rumors" involving their alleged involvment. The company is actively looking at property in Blythewood and Goose Creek and best of all, the two cities are not in direct competition with each other. Hopefully both metros will recieve the benefits of having Google in their backyards.

Edited February 4, 2007 by SimCity

[Charleston native]

This Friday, the secret corporate interests scouting property around the Columbia and Charleston areas were revealed as fronts for Google. The Internet giant has decided to "clear up rumors" involving their alleged involvment. The company is actively looking at property in Blythewood and Goose Creek and best of all, the two cities are not in direct competition with each other. Hopefully both metros will recieve the benefits of having Google in their backyards.

Indeed, it will be a huge boost to Cola's and Chas' economies if Google decides to develop both locations.

[Charleston native]

It looks as if Google coming to the Chas area is becoming more of a reality! The article below talks about a business affiliated with Google that started construction on a massive facility near Goose Creek and has filed plans to build on its 512-acre site. Maguro Enterprises LLC has started clearing trees and laying down a foundation. In addition, Maguro has filed plans with DHEC to build on 169 acres of the land.

The Google spokesman is not admitting anything, yet. He says that Google is not committed to build on the land and they are evaluating and preparing the site "in parallel", whatver that means. Let's continue to hope we get this!

Google-linked company breaks ground in Berkeley

[krazeeboi]

I'm pretty confident that Goose Creek has definitely landed Google.

[SimCity]

It looks as if Google coming to the Chas area is becoming more of a reality! The article below talks about a business affiliated with Google that started construction on a massive facility near Goose Creek and has filed plans to build on its 512-acre site. Maguro Enterprises LLC has started clearing trees and laying down a foundation. In addition, Maguro has filed plans with DHEC to build on 169 acres of the land.

The Google spokesman is not admitting anything, yet. He says that Google is not committed to build on the land and they are evaluating and preparing the site "in parallel", whatver that means. Let's continue to hope we get this!

Google-linked company breaks ground in Berkeley

Excellent! I hope that's parallel as in parallel with the possible site up in Columbia!

[SimCity]

Most of us have probably heard of The Dalles,OR where Google has been working on a "secret" project to expand its data procesing capacity. I have included links to two articles examining the company's secrecy in such affairs, the need for extensive water and electricity as well as the project in Oregon that our two sites in SC could reflect. Also in the articles are some interesting pictures. Jostling to get inside Google

"Google seeks more power"

[Charleston native]

Well, Google finally confessed! They confirmed their involvement behind the swarm of activity on slightly less than 514 acres in the Mount Holly Commerce Park.

[Infinite1]

Well, here is your Google anouncement.

[Charleston native]

Yes!!! I now believe it! My only wish is that Google would locate closer to the urban core and not way out in the suburbs. Anyway, it will now be time to start bringing in the high-paying tech jobs and the spin-off industries associated with Google.

That is absolutely awesome. The Chas area is hot, for certain!

[krazeeboi]

I'm not sure how much closer they could have gotten to the city on 520 acres, but nonetheless I'm excited about this development!

[SimCity]

Just imagine the fuel this will add to the growth that's already taking place between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner. Moncks Corner and Goodse Creek can both expect to see great economic growth attached to this project and this will quite possibly be the catalyst to close the remaining gaps of undeveloped land between the two far flung suburbs. Fortunately the 4 lane Hwy US 52 is in an excellent position to accomodate the potential growth and can be widened even further without much trouble should that become necessary in the future.

[krazeeboi]

Unfortunately, I also see sprawl following this development. I would be great to see something New Urbanist-esque fill in those gaps, but I won't hold my breath.

[MikesLogic]

I was hoping for more than 200 jobs but I understand they will be adding more employees as time goes on. This is an amazing development though and ups the profile of that tech park a good bit.

[krazeeboi]

How much are we shelling out in incentives on this one? There was some discussion on the NC forum about the Google facility that Lenoir landed, with many saying that the state gave up too much in incentives.

[SimCity]

How much are we shelling out in incentives on this one? There was some discussion on the NC forum about the Google facility that Lenoir landed, with many saying that the state gave up too much in incentives.

Wow, after following your link, it looks like many of the folks up in NC aren't happy about the incentives deal given to Google. Hopefully SC didn't give Google the farm especially since it looks like not many (or any) spinoff industries will come from this.

[Charleston native]

How much are we shelling out in incentives on this one? There was some discussion on the NC forum about the Google facility that Lenoir landed, with many saying that the state gave up too much in incentives.

Actually, I don't think we gave too much away here. Check out this quote in the SCBiz news magazine:

The company has also entered into a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Berkeley County. If Google invests exactly $600 million in the Goose Creek project, its annual fee payment will be $1.96 million. The fee depends on the amount of investment the company makes: If Google invests more in the area, the fee will go up; if it invests less, the fee will be less.

Berkeley County stands to get a pretty hefty annual payment if Google invests as much as it says it will.

Mike, I actually read that the initial employee number is 200, but they're hoping to double that number as the business grows.

Edited April 5, 2007 by Charleston native

[Charleston native]

Oops, looks like the state is giving away some incentives, though. The article below is the official news of Google's location here. According to the article, the state said it will grant Google $4.8 million in tax breaks over 10 years if it creates 200 jobs. The average salary of the employees will be $48,000. Not too shabby, these salaries still have fair spending power.

I think the Cane Island development is going to synch-up with Google nicely. It will be a "Daniel Island" type development close to Google's location, so hopefully excessive suburban development will be at a minimum.

Google makes it official

[knightrider162]

Oops, looks like the state is giving away some incentives, though. The article below is the official news of Google's location here. According to the article, the state said it will grant Google $4.8 million in tax breaks over 10 years if it creates 200 jobs. The average salary of the employees will be $48,000. Not too shabby, these salaries still have fair spending power.

I think the Cane Island development is going to synch-up with Google nicely. It will be a "Daniel Island" type development close to Google's location, so hopefully excessive suburban development will be at a minimum.

Google makes it official

Cane Island does sound promising, but nearby is Cane Bay also which seems Crowfield-esque but larger, and while Crowfield is not the worse suburban type development, I dont think that is what we want to see filling the gap between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner.

[SimCity]

Cane Island does sound promising, but nearby is Cane Bay also which seems Crowfield-esque but larger, and while Crowfield is not the worse suburban type development, I dont think that is what we want to see filling the gap between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner.

That's especially true if we have to deal with Crowfield-type pricing. It would be nice to see more affordable housing built in that direction and while Crowfield is very nicely landscaped it seems to be the epitome of wasteful suburban sprawl.

[knightrider162]

That's especially true if we have to deal with Crowfield-type pricing. It would be nice to see more affordable housing built in that direction and while Crowfield is very nicely landscaped it seems to be the epitome of wasteful suburban sprawl.

I see what your saying. While I lived in Crowfield I was able to walk everywhere I needed to go though, I hope that that is the main thing that Cane Bay decides to copy.