A 2-year-old Atlanta company that builds data centers near historically black colleges and universities has won approval from Greensboro for help starting one at the Gateway Research Park with a $108 million investment promising 28 new jobs and improved connectivity for both N.C. A&T State University and, perhaps, nearby residents.
The Greensboro City Council unanimously approved a grant of up to $530,359 over four years for ImpactData LLC, which builds data centers near HBCUs like A&T. Company founders Terry Comer and David Calloway are alumni of HBCUs who, according to the company website, seek to “better assist enterprises in securing their data while developing a more diverse, career ready pipeline of talent and broader connectivity options within historically underserved communities.”
According to a letter in the council agenda packet from Gateway Center Interim Executive Director Jim Westmoreland, the project will include a new, privately owned, and operated 110,000-square-foot multi-use facility at Gateway’s South Campus, along with academic space for A&T, and development space focused on providing the community training in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, “and as feasible, shared broadband infrastructure and connectivity for the community.”
The project would be a mixed-use space consisting of a data center, a higher education innovation center, and community development co-working space, city Economic Development Manager Marshall Yandle told City Council at its meeting Tuesday. Jobs will pay an average of $60,714, well above the $15 hourly minimum the city requires for such incentives. Lowest pay would be about $35,000 a year.
ImpactData says it has a partnership with DigitalBridge, a Boca Raton, Florida-based real estate investment trust that invests in digital infrastructure such as data centers, cell towers, fiber systems, and edge infrastructure and small-cell connectivity equipment. It says it manages a $35 billion portfolio with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Singapore.
“We’re excited to potentially bring this here but this incentive is a big part of our decision-making process,” ImpactData co-founder and CEO Terry Comer told the council.
The project would deliver innovation space to A&T with no cost to the university, but then also deliver “research-level connectivity” that can attract large and diverse clients and help the community, Comer added.
“When we bring this level of connectivity to a community -- you're talking about research-level connectivity for North Carolina A&T -- there are opportunities to then build out additional levels of connectivity from our dream center facility to local residents' homes. It's almost that last mile to bring low-cost and no-cost connectivity. Those are things that we will eventually build out over time.”
"Having data-center capacity at this level of this magnitude, world class facilities — it is important to be doing that, but ultimately, you're bringing resource level connectivity — 100 megabit download speeds — into the community.”
