Yahoo Set to Unveil Nebraska Project

lavistasite

Yahoo has purchased this building in La Vista, Nebraska for $14.8 million.

Yahoo today will confirm its plans to build a major new data center facility in La Vista, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is scheduled to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. in La Vista and is expected to discuss the state's effort to win the project, which is expected to include an investment by Yahoo of at least $100 million. A key development was Nebraska's adoption of tax incentives that made it more attractive for Yahoo to build in Nebraska than Iowa, which has already won huge data center projects for Google and Microsoft.

Yahoo recently paid $14.8 million to purchase a 300,000 square foot existing structure on 24.3 acres of land in La Vista. The building previously served as the headquarters for Tender Heart Treasures, which makes gifts and home decor products, and will vacate the building in January.

The new facility is a major step in Yahoo's ongoing expansion of its data center infrastructure to support its online properties. The timing of the announcement is somewhat awkward, following this week's announcement that Yahoo will lay off 1,400 workers as part of a plan to cut costs by $400 million. But Yahoo has been less aggressive in its data center capital spending than rivals Microsoft and Google, which have each announced more than $2 billion in new projects since the start of 2007. 

Yahoo has applied for tax incentives under the Nebraska Super Advantage program, which requires a minimum investment of $100 million and the creation of at least 50 high-salary jobs paying a minimum average salary of $68,700.

La Vista is one of the fastest-growing cities in Nebraska, and has 800 acres of industrial business parks. Current corporate residents from the tech sector include HP and eBay’s Paypal unit, which employs about 2,000 workers at a call center in La Vista.

We'll update with more details after the announcement.