Google's Massive $600M Data Center Takes Shape in Ellis County as Tech Giant Ups Texas Presence

Internet giant Google is searching for future growth with a new $600 million data center in North Texas.The 375-acre project is under construction in Midlothian, southwest of Dallas. It stands out among the cement and steel plants and farm fields along U.S. Highway 67."We already have a lot of steel coming out of the ground and hundreds of construction workers on the site," said Andrew Silvestri, Google's head of public policy and community development. "They've made great progress already."Plans for the massive complex were disclosed about a year ago when Google quietly snapped up 375 acres in Midlothian's Railport industrial park.On Friday, Google executives and North Texas officials gathered to formally kick off the development.The city of Midlothian provided tax abatements to support the data center, which is expected to employ about 40 people.While the workforce at data centers is small, the importance of the centers for firms like Google can't be overstated."Data centers are really the engine of the internet. Anytime you process an email on Gmail or look at a cat video on YouTube it's going through a data center," Silvestri said. "If you are living in Texas or surrounding areas, it will likely be processed in that center."The Midlothian data center is one of four Google is building to expand its processing footprint in the U.S. Others are in Alabama, Virginia and Tennessee,"This will be our first Texas data center," Silvestri said. "We have six operational in the U.S."  Continue reading...