TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Loads of new jobs could be coming to the Tucson area, now that Pima County Supervisors have agreed to sell land for a big new data center, but there’s another vote required to make the project a “go”.
Tuesday, Pima County Supervisors approved their part of the deal for the previously mysterious Project Blue–a big, high dollar data center. But they approved it over a lot of objections over how much water that would use. Now whether that project lives or dies is up to Tucson City Council.
Pima County agreed to sell about 290 acres of land near the Pima County Fairgrounds to be the site of a large data center that could grow to ten buildings. A company called Beale Infrastructure agreed to a price of almost 21 million dollars.
Building the place should create more than three thousand jobs. Running it should create 180 jobs with an average pay of 64 thousand dollars a year.
Some public speakers praised the jobs, others said the desert is no place for data centers that will use huge amounts of reclaimed water to cool their electronics.
The land is in Supervisor Steve Christy’s District. He says the deal’s assurances of jobs and responsible water use are reassuring, and the economics are compelling.
“We look at the economic development that we're taking a $20 million sale, selling it to a private equity firm in the private sector, who will then construct a building that will be put on the tax revenue rolls that will provide millions of dollars in tax revenues.”
Supervisors Christy, Scott and Heinz voted for the deal. Supervisors Allen and Cano worried about long term effects and voted no.
Ed Hendel has a business called Sky Island AI. It helps companies use artificial intelligence. He depends on data centers and says there should be more of them, but not here in a blazing hot desert.
“Building them here is irresponsible. It’s going to take a ton of water to keep it cool and keep it functional and we already have a dwindling water supply so that’s dangerous.”
The Supervisors vote to approve the land sale is not the last word on whether the datacenter happens. Tucson City Council will have a say because the deal requires the city to annex the land into Tucson City Limits.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
