KANNAPOLIS — Google is coming to town. The tech giant recently leased property in the Overlook 85 Industrial Park off Old Beatty Ford Road. Despite initial community concern, the city has said that the property will not be a data center.
As first reported in Charlotte Business Journal, Google leased a 729,000-square-foot building from Foundry Commercial for 88 months, which also gives them a first right to offer on an adjoining property that is roughly one million square feet. In the initial report, the use of the facility was still unknown.
According to a statement from the City of Kannapolis, the building will be used for “warehousing and logistics for their supply chain” which will be managed by a third-party logistics company.
During the April 27 Kannapolis City Council meeting, City Manager Wilmer Melton addressed the potential development and assured that the property would not be a data center based on the utilities available on the site.
“What I can share with you this evening is that it is not an A.I. data center,” Melton said. “I’m clear on that because the utilities at this particular site will not support an A.I. data center. Without question, it cannot be supported there. But we are very excited to have them with the opportunity they will bring to our citizens as well as our business community.”
The city is excited to welcome Google to its industrial space.
“We welcome Google to the City of Kannapolis. As one of the biggest companies in the world, they have the reputation of being on the cutting edge of technology and innovation, and they have landed a premiere location in our City where businesses have found a strong business environment to invest,” Kannapolis Mayor Doug Wilson said.
The project has been in the works for some time for Kannapolis along with the Rowan Economic Development Council, Foundry Commercial and Hudson Capital Properties who constructed the facility.
“Google’s investment is evidence of the competitiveness of Kannapolis and the region,” Kannapolis Economic and Community Development Director Irene Wong said. “Our commitment to building a stable and diverse economic base is paying off, and our work with the Rowan EDC, Hudson Capital Properties and Foundry Commercial show that partnerships bring results.”
