“A development-ready building. Infrastructure in place. Expedited government permitting. Competitive tax structure. A skilled workforce trained for business success,” Eric Jay Toll reports for The Phoenix Business Journal. “Those are the components businesses seek when looking for a relocation. With all cylinders firing, Apple Inc. will land a 150-person data center at its failed sapphire glass factory in Mesa – with no economic development incentives.”
“The Apple data center coming to the former First Solar building near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is proof that Arizona has the right formula for using economic development incentives,” Toll writes. “Sure, in this case, Apple owned the building, but the reality is that the company could have turned it into a warehouse or distribution center, or even sold it.”
“The bottom line is that greater Phoenix offered all the ingredients to make the facility operating costs efficient and effective,” Toll writes. “When the numbers crunch well, there is no need for the state or cities to incentivize a deal.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple did not ask for incentives for new $2 billion data center in Mesa, Arizona – February 2, 2015
Apple to invest $2 billion to convert GT Advanced’s failed sapphire plant into data command center – February 2, 2015
Apple will save jobs in Arizona by repurposing sapphire factory – November 19, 2014
Apple sticking with Arizona plan after sapphire supplier GT Advanced falters – November 18, 2014