Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has announced that it has decided to set up its data center in New Mexico. The company had narrowed down its options to Los Lunas, New Mexico, and West Jordan.
The Facebook New Mexico Data Center was announced by the company together with state officials. Los Lunas, New Mexico has a lot to benefit from the presence of the $2.5 billion facility. Susana Martinez, the Governor of New Mexico was pleased about the company’s decision and she believes that it is a huge win for the state and its economy.
Kim Rolfe, the mayor of West Jordan was however disappointed that the deal did not turn out in his favor and he placed the blame on Mayor Ben McAdams and the county council of Salt Lake City.
“It’s unfortunate that this $1 billion-plus investment in our community was jeopardized by political theatrics,” stated Mayor Rolfe on Wednesday.
Various states have been trying to attract the company since the announcement that Facebook was looking to set up a data center. Martinez together with her economic development team have been working hard to make sure that the Facebook New Mexico Data Center would become a reality. This included visits to California to present their pitch that sparsely populated New Mexico was the ideal location.
“With the improvements we’ve made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, it’s a big win for the people of our state and our economic future,” Martinez pointed out.
The deal is expected to bring a lot of development to the state and boost job creation which will in turn have a positive impact on the economy of New Mexico. The state had to come up with some compromises such as giving up property taxes in Los Lunas for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from the company. The annual payments will range from $50,000 to $500,000. The agreement also includes tax breaks on computer equipment worth billions of dollars once the Facebook New Mexico Data Center is operational.
Facebook’s shares closed the latest trading session at $127.77 following a $0.56 rise of 0.44%. The volume of shares traded during the session was 15.72 million.