Rural economic development is not dead yet.
HSBC North America Holdings has selected a farm field in the Town of Cambria as the site for its proposed new $139 million Niagara County data center, which will supplement its existing facility in Amherst.
The planned 275,000-square-foot center will be located on the northeast corner of Lockport and Comstock roads, on Cambria’s southern border with Pendleton, according to an application for tax incentives HSBC Technology & Services filed with the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency. HSBC officials confirmed the location on Monday.
The bank is seeking $88.5 million in sales and other tax benefits for the previously announced project, which will ultimately require more than $1.5 billion in technology purchases by HSBC.
According to IDA documents, specific plans for Cambria call for a 200,000-square-foot building and a 75,000-square-foot equipment yard, to be built on 51 acres of a 77-acre farm field. HSBC plans to buy the 51 acres and obtain a right of refusal on the rest, and the project is designed to allow for future expansion to 350,000 square feet.
Cambria is a pretty remote place. It’s about 60 miles from any real urban area.
$88.5 million. We don’t exactly know the structure of the incentive package from the State of New York but suffice it to say it is considerable. We do know the state has already awarded HSBC 11 megawatts of low-cost power per year for the next 15 years, through the New York Power Authority.
It will create almost 200 direct and indirect jobs.