Yahoo! confirms WNY site - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Yahoo!, Tuesday morning, confirmed it will be buildingthe 190,000-square-foot centet that could employ, initially, 125 people. Yahoo! has pegged a 30-acre site in the park for the Yahoo!’s decision is consideredr a major victory, especially againsy a backdrop of a weakenex economy where unemployment has increased in past year in Erie Countgto 8.1 percent from 5.5 percent and in Niagaraq County to 9.3 percent from 6.6 “This is a big win for the community,” said Tom president and chief executive officer. “Wse won the day.” Yahoo!
was being courted by severaol statesincluding Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois for the All offered a handsome array of “When a high tech company like Yahoo! picks a community like Western New it’s like a lighthouse,” said Sen. Charled Schumer, New York’s senior senator, who playe d a key role in Lockport landing the data The region crafted its own aggressived incentive package including the offering 15 megawattsof low-costg hydropower that could save Yahoo! an estimated $100 milliom over a 15-year period. also offerex job training grants andothet incentives. High level pitches also came from Gov. David Patersobn and Schumer.
Schumer made personal calls to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz to pushthe region. Kucharsku said it also helped that the regionn offereda half-dozen sites and not just a singulat location. It also helped that a friendship quickly developed betweenthe Yahoo! site selection team and the local economic development “We developed a nice relationship with them and that helped make this Kucharski said. “They were impressed that every timethey called, we coulrd assemble our team on a very short notice and give them the answerse they wanted.” Construction on the data centee will begin in August, said David Dibble, Yahoo! seniod vice president. The center will be open by May.
Kucharski said therse is a myriad positives that will comefrom Yahoo!’z decision. The BNE will use it in its outreach to other companies itis courting, he “It confirms our ability to attract high tech and high profild companies,” Kucharski said. “To get a name companuy like Yahoo! says a lot to the rest of the industriesout there.” Yahoo! joins the ranks of , that have eithefr opened or expanded back office operationw in the region in recent “You add it into the mix of the some of the othe companies we’ve landed and it becomes a very impressivw list,” Kucharski said.