MAIDEN - Two days after Catawba County and town leaders approved tax breaks they saw as the deciding factor in coaxing a $1 billion Apple Inc. data center here, the technology giant still refused to confirm Wednesday that it had locked in its choice.
The reason is that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company continues to negotiate contract and other details involving the offer by Catawba County and Maiden, said Dale Carroll, deputy secretary of the state Commerce Department.
"We are still working through the process. It now is a more locally focused process, but they are still completing steps in that process," Carroll said Wednesday.
Apple's plans to build the data center in Maiden are solid, said Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp.
"There is not a moment being wasted by the company, by me or by the attorneys," Millar said Wednesday.
"The project is moving ahead at full speed."
Apple spokesman Mike Foulkes made only a general statement Monday at a meeting in Maiden where county and town officials approved tax breaks of $20.7 million over 10 years on top of the state's earlier corporate tax break of about $46 million over a decade.
Foulkes, Apple's director of state and local government affairs, told more than 200 people at the meeting that Catawba County is a great place to do business.
"Apple is looking forward to building a new data center in North Carolina, and we appreciate the efforts of Gov. Perdue, the state lawmakers, the county and the town, and all who helped make it possible," he said.
After the meeting, Foulkes said it was the company's "desire and hope" to build in Catawba County.
Apple representatives since then have declined to confirm the company's choice, referring back to the Monday statement.
Apple spokeswoman Susan Lundgren told the Hickory Daily Record on Wednesday that the company had no further updates, but advised the newspaper to consult Millar on the project's progress.
Millar said that while there are several steps to take before construction can begin on the project in August — including Maiden's annexation of the property, approval of a development agreement and Apple's purchase of the 183-acre site — he foresees no problems.
"I have no concerns," Millar said.
Apple said June 3 it would build somewhere in North Carolina and since then has sorted through potential sites for the data center, a vast collection of servers able to process tremendous amounts of data traffic.
Catawba County and Maiden agreed to the local incentives in part to help trim the area's 15.5 percent unemployment rate. While the data center is only expected to employ about 50 full-time workers, promoters emphasize that the infusion of economic activity would mean work for local security, janitorial and repair service companies.
The state estimates the project could generate more than 3,000 related jobs for the region.
*Courtesy of Hickory Daily Record
