Sabey and Dell Start Permitting Process to Build New High-Tech Data Centers at Port of Quincy

QUINCY, WA, December 17, 2010 (Press-News.org) Sabey and Dell have started the permitting process for their respective data center projects at the Port of Quincy (www.portofquincy.org).

Although construction is months away, it appears Quincy is getting closer to having two new businesses, some building activity and more jobs in town.

Dell expects to start building in March, according to an environmental check-list filed with the City of Quincy.

State Environmental Policy Act documents, or SEPAs, are sent to 16 different agencies for review, including the state Department of Ecology.

At the same time, the state conducts air, water and environmental reviews.

The SEPA process takes a minimum of 30 days to complete.

The companies are working on their building permits at the same time.

It could take from eight weeks, to two to three months, for construction to start, Worley estimated.

According to documents filed with the City of Quincy this month, the Sabey Intergate data center measures a total of about 508,577 square feet, along with parking, infrastructure and landscaping improvements.

Two buildings are 186,660 square feet each, while a third building measuring 140,000 square feet.

For both Sabey and Dell, the City of Quincy "has determined that it does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment," according to permitting paperwork. "An environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under Revised Code of Washington 43.21C.0030 (c). This decision was made after review of a completed environmental checklist and other information on file with the lead agency. This information is available to the public on request."

As part of its Project Roosevelt, Dell plans to build a roughly 350,000-square-foot data center in three phases on an 80.1 acre site at the Port of Quincy.

Dell anticipates phase one of the build-out to be done by late 2012, according to an environmental check-list.

Phase two and phase three are estimated to be built by late 2018.

"This construction date is estimated with respect to market demands and power availability," the check list states.

The announcements by Sabey and Dell come on the heels of Microsoft and Yahoo beginning major expansions on their high-tech data centers at the Port of Quincy in 2010.

Pat Boss, the Port of Quincy's economic development and government affairs director, said the progress of data center development this year shows Washington state is back on a level playing field.

He credits the improvement to a tax incentives for data center development which the Port of Quincy and other groups were able to get successfully approved by the Washington State legislature earlier this year.

"It's making Quincy very competitive in recruiting these high-tech companies," Boss commented. "The fact is that Quincy and central Washington is back in the game again."

About Port of Quincy

Located in the center of Washington state, the Port of Quincy is an exceptional location for business and economic development with state-of-the-art industrial infrastructure including abundant low-cost hydropower electricity, high-capacity bandwidth dark fiber, a key cross-country rail mainline, a modern intermodal terminal, a major interstate freeway, relatively inexpensive industrial and commercial properties, a skilled workforce, and an all-around great location offering the best of rural lifestyles with easy access to urban amenities. The Port of Quincy has premier industrial sites for high-tech companies, data centers, food processors, manufacturers and is an ideal location for warehousing and distribution centers. At the Port of Quincy, major agriculture and food processing companies such as ConAgra Foods, National Frozen Foods, Norpac, Columbia Colstor, Oneonta, Stemilt, etc. find themselves next to technology giants like Yahoo!, Intuit and Microsoft.