Google Buys Land at 2nd South Carolina Site

Google has finalized its purchase of a 466-acre parcel of land near Blythewood, South Carolina that is being considered as a site for a second huge data center in the state. In April Google (GOOG) announced a $600 million data center in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

Despite the completion of the land purchase, development at the Blythewood site is not imminent. "We regularly review our resources and customer needs, and will keep the community informed if and when new plans develop," the company said in a statement Friday. In July, spokesman Barry Schnitt said Google was "still evaluating the (Blythewood) site," but was "definitely not going to build it this year."

An LLC associated with Google has submitted proposals for a data center on the property in Blythewood, which is a suburb of Columbia about 120 miles northwest of Google's Goose Creek project. The city of Columbia bought the property some years ago for a proposed Lucent plant, but Google did not complete the land purchase until last week.

One of the items delaying Google's purchase of the land had been a wetlands issue. Google's proposal includes changes on 14 acres of wetlands on the Blythewood site. The company filed paperwork with the Army Corps in January outlining a complex with data centers, electrical substations and cooling towers. The Army Corps approved the permit on June 30.

The Google facility at Goose Creek will be on a 520-acre site at the Mount Holly Commerce Park, and create 200 jobs paying an average salary of $48,000 per year. This year Google has also announced data center projects in Lenoir, North Carolina; Pryor, Oklahoma and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Google expects to spend $600 million in each location.