LENOIR, NC—At a joint meeting on October 22, 2024, the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners and City of Lenoir City Council approved several measures aimed at streamlining a possible expansion of the existing Google data center in Lenoir.
“We are excited to strengthen our long-standing partnership with Google,” stated Randy Church, Chair of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners. “For the past 17 years, Google has been an outstanding community partner, contributing to hundreds of jobs and equipping Caldwell County students with the skills needed to succeed in a tech-driven economy. Projects of this scale are made possible through collaboration between the public and private sectors, which sets our community apart.”
“We have been honored to have Google in our region for the past 17 years, and we’re excited to see their business continue to grow,” said City of Lenoir Mayor Joe Gibbons. “Google has done so much for Lenoir and Caldwell County over the years. They have been very supportive of the local schools and many nonprofits, and I believe this project will open up new opportunities for their business and for investment in our community.”
The proposed expansion would take place on approximately 60 acres in Lenoir, adjacent to Google’s current data center campus located at 708 Lynhaven Drive.
An economic development agreement and incentive grant for the potential project were approved at a joint meeting. Performance-based incentive grants of 50 percent real property and 85% personal property will be awarded over 20 years. Incentive grants will be awarded only following the proof of performance requirements standard for any Caldwell County investment and are safeguarded by clawbacks as required under North Carolina general statute and Caldwell County practice.
In addition, the City of Lenoir approved the closure of a segment of Virginia Street between 815 and 1021 to facilitate this expansion of Google’s campus. Google owns the majority of the road frontage in this area and requested the closure for operational and security purposes.
The City will also provide additional water capacity as needed for the expansion, with Google voluntarily contributing $6.8 million to ensure adequate water flow at the campus.
Data centers, like the Google data center in Lenoir, are the engines behind the digital services that help people and businesses thrive, and help keep the internet up and running around the clock and around the world. Google services like Google Cloud, Search, Maps and Workspace, as well as ongoing AI innovations, are all powered by data centers.