The City of Kearney has positioned TechoNE Crossing as the perfect industrial park for data center development. The municipally-owned site has accounted for everything needed to efficiently operate a data center, from abundant and dependable power, fiber, sewer, water and more.
Specific inherent advantages include:
- Free land up to 200 acres, depending on the size and scope of the project.
- An onsite substation supported by Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), a pro-economic development utility.
- A partnership between the city of Kearney and NPPD ensures fast-track solutions customized to client needs.
- Minimal environmental hazards exist at its location outside the 100- and 500-year floodplain in a non-threat seismic activity region.
- Presence above the country’s largest freshwater supply - the Ogallala Aquifer.
The City of Kearney has positioned Tech One Crossing with infrastructure suitable for data center development as directed by paid data consulting firms. The site accounts for power, fiber, sewer, water, zoning, environmental hazards as well as availability of green operation efficiencies.
Paving is complete on north and western boundary with future direct access to newly upgrade airport. The site is minutes from Kearney’s airport with three 1-hour inbound and three 1-hour outbound flights to Denver International Airport (DEN). A neighboring community offers multiple daily flights direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
Immediate (Change to: Speed 2 Market):
- Free land depending size and scope of project
- 165 acres municipal owned and dedicated for economic development
- Additional 40 acres available by option
- Zoned for data center development as directed by Gensler
- No planning commission requirement
- Ability to begin moving dirt immediately
- Soil quality allows for 2000+ psf native and
- Building permit review is 10 days or less
- Large truck access to the site
Risk Mitigated:
- Environmental (NEPA)\Phase I\Geotechnical\ALTA plus all data center infrastructure to the site
- Outside 100 and 500 year floodplain
- No Wetlands
- ENVIRON did not identify any “recognized environmental conditions” (RECs) as defined by AST
- Outside flight path
- Non-threat seismic activity
- Requisite distance to rail, air & interstate
- New Fire Station within 1.2 miles of site
- 90+ PSI Municipal water loop plus five onsite wells (3200 GPM)
Power
Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), a pro-economic development utility, supports the site with an on-site substation. A partnership between the city of Kearney and NPPD ensures fast-track solutions customized to client needs. Worth noting, the City of Kearney’s mayor represents this utility in a large account management capacity. This provides for alignment of economic development objectives.
"We moved our Dallas operations to Nebraska due in part to stability of power." – Yahoo! Facility Manager
Immediate:
- Rates as low as 4 cents per kWh
- 5-year fixed rate period available
- Substation onsite (21 MW available today)
- Fully redundant 115 kV and 34.5 kV loops to substation
- 4 diverse 115kV feeds to Nebraska grid
- 1 diverse 115kV feed to Kansas grid
- Contiguous ground owned for future substation improvements.
Availability:
- 21 MW Now
- 30 MW – 6 months
- 60 MW – 12-18 months
- 120 MW > 24 months
- No cost - aid to construction may be available depending on project size and load
Articles behind paywall.
http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/kearney-officially-signs-on-m-solar-array-project/article_378d94c7-3bc7-5b65-83dc-cd040c42c8d7.html
http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/switch-is-on-at-kearney-s-solar-farm-m-facility/article_21544874-dec9-11e7-960a-8f593cd54544.html
Diversity
Multiple Diverse routes leaving Kearney (electronic and path diversity):
- (AT&T and CenturyLink\Qwest) Northeast and east to Omaha
- (Level 3) South then east to Iowa - some build out to POP required
- (Charter, Verizon Business and Pinpoint) South then west to Denver
- (Windstream Communcations) South then east to Omaha
- (Charter) East to Grand Island, NE split to Kansas City and Minneapolis
- (Charter) West to Sidney, NE with future direct access to Cheyenne, Wyoming
- (NebraskaLink) – 40 x 10G fiber ring dual points to site to Omaha 1623 Farnam POP
- (Verizon Wireless) currently installing fiber to all towers
- Dark fiber options depending on route desired
Charter utilizing ROAD M technology 10 x 10G circuits per fiber:
- Charter multiple unlit fibers going east and west
City and site served by Frontier Communications (LEC) OC Sonet
Onsite F5 rated fiber carrier hotel funded and built to client specs (commitments secured)
50,084
2020 Buffalo County Population
2nd
Least economically stressed county in the US (Associated Press • Dec 2010)
Educated Workforce:
- University of Nebraska at Kearney representing approx. 6,000 students
- Over 600 International students from over 50 different countries
- The University campus offers hands-on Cisco, Avaya, web design/security plus CSIS programs
- 25-county Central Community College offers 33 career/technical programs
- Ability to offer business specific customized curriculum (both University and CCC)
- Underutilized University workforce with 10,000 University alumni working in Buffalo County
Skilled Vendors:
- Local offices for Siemens, Johnson Controls, and Cummins Central Power (Cummins, Kohler, Generac, Onan)
- Pramac International – Italian generator company with manufacturing in Kearney
- IBM Field Service Engineer in Kearney for Buckle Data Center – AS400\RISC\X-Series\Sun\HP\XIV
- Intellicom – Cisco Certified engineers, Microsoft Gold Partner, HP Partner
- Fronter Communications – Nortel\Avaya, Calix, Cisco, Electro-Mechanical Technicians
- Xpanxion – Software programming and quality assurance firm with over 70 local programmer
- Many other large companies with national presence (Eaton, Cabela’s, Buckle, etc.)
Property is Located Outside City Limits:
- State sales tax rate 5.5%
- Property tax 2% (could be refunded via Nebraska Advantage)
- No annexation requirement which eliminates franchise and local option sales tax (city services still provided)
- County Assessor confirmed buildings would be taxed at warehouse value
Access:
- One daily 1-hour inbound and 1-hour outbound flights to Denver International Airport | Jet Service via United Airlines
- Neighboring community offers multiple daily flights direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
- Airport 1.1 miles from site and the site is outside of flight path
- Rail 1.6 miles from site
- 5 miles from Interstate 80
- Healthy community - 22 miles of hike and bike trails interconnect the community
Incentives and Operating Cost
All Incentives Dependent on Size and Scope of Project
- Free land up to 200 acres
- Site grading
- Utility installation waivers (no impact fees)
- Local economic development office incentives
- Nebraska Advantage Act (contract incentive between company and department of revenue)
- Real Estate Tax Refunds
- Investment credits
- Wage credits
- Sales tax refunds on capital purchases
- Personal property tax exemptions on computer systems
Credits may be applied to sales tax, income tax or employee withholding tax.
Financially strong municipality - incentives determined on a per project basis.
Financially Viable Master Planned Data Site
- Free Land* – Depending on size and scope of project (205 acres)
- Power Rates – As low as 4 cents per kWh depending on load (Econ. Dev. Fixed Power Rate Available 5 years)
- Financial Incentives – State & local + data equip. tax exemptions
- Geothermal cooling – Country’s largest aquifer Avg. 52°-55°
- Outside air economizers – Daily temperature Avg. 48.7°-49.9°
- Infrastructure complete – Power, Fiber, and Municipal
- Master planned specific for data center development (M&A\Gensler)
Contact Us
Primary Contact
Trevor Lee
Economic Development Council
Buffalo County
PO Box 607
Kearney, Nebraska 68848
Main: 308-237-9346
TLee@edcbc.com
Municipal
Mike Morgan
City of Kearney
PO Box 1180
Kearney, Nebraska 68848
Main: 308-233-3214
Fax: 308-234-6399
mmorgan@kearneygov.org
State Representative
Kelly Gewecke
State of Nebraska
Department of Economic Development
245 Fallbrook Blvd, Suite 002
Lincoln, Nebraska 68521
Main: 402-471-3113
Cell: 308-627-3151
kelly.gewecke@nebraska.gov
Electrical Utility
Stan Clouse (Mayor)
Nebraska Public Power District
PO Box 2170
Kearney, Nebraska 68848
Main: 308-238-5210
Cell: 308-627-6730
Fax: 308-236-2113
saclouse@nppd.com
Gensler: Master Planning
CBRE: Real Estate Consulting
SCORR: Marketing Strategy
HP: MEP Engineering
CMX: Civil Engineering
Miller and Associates: Land/Master Planning Consultants
CS Technology: Technology Consultants
History
- Tech park site identified in 2009
- Goal to attract data centers and technology based industries
- Collaboration between State, County and City to ensure success
- Gensler hired to assess strengths and identify improvements as well as develop new zoning and development standards
- 2010 Tech One Crossing become a Nebraska Department of Economic Development Signature Data Site
- Late 2011-2012 site under review by some of the biggest names in the data center world
Data Site Checklist
Site Characteristics:
- Zoning: Complete as BP as recommended by Gensler which includes data center development. Property is already zoned and planning commission approval is not required. (Speed 2 Market)
- Dimensions: 165 acre parcel reserved specific for data park development. Parcel designated for economic development use. 30-day property transfer timeframe. Adjacent property under contract of an additional 40 acres.
- Distance From Interstates: Five miles. Fall 2011 begin construction of new I-80 interchange bypass direct to the site.
- Distance From Airports: Nearest small airport is 1.1 miles from site and site is outside of flight path.
- Distance From Railways: 1.6 miles.
- Distance From Water and Communications Towers: No towers, water or other in the immediate area.
- Distance From Pipelines: No major fuel pipelines above or below ground in the immediate area.
- Distance From Grain Elevators: 2 miles
- Topography: Perfectly flat.
- Prior Use: Farm ground purchased for economic development. No farm leases exist on the ground.
- Water, Electric, Sewer: All infrastructure in place with up to 100 MW substation already onsite. Sewer and water complete. (Water loop) Onsite wells connected to country’s largest aquifer.
- Access: Paved public roadways. Main arterial with future direct access to Interstate 80.
- Flood Plain: Site and access path is not in flood plain. Site is not located down stream from a dam.
- Surrounding Properties: Nearest development is a ½ mile, non- hazardous. Land restrictions on the 116.1 acres can be set with maximum setbacks. Site is not adjacent to state or federal buildings. Area overlay restrictions possible upon request.
- Emergency Services: All services available. Nearest fire house located 1.1 miles at airport. Class II fire rating today.
- Storm Water Retention: Storm water retention can be handled onsite or potentially distributed to nearby NRD controlled outfall channel.
- Environmental: Phase I complete on all 205 acres under control or option. No environmental concerns identified.
Location Characteristics:
- Fiber: Charter, Verizon Business, Windstream, Qwest, AT&T, Frontier, Pinpoint, and Nebraska Link. Completion of onsite F5 carrier hotel scheduled 3Q 2011. Possible incentives available for installation of prospective company owned fiber.
- Vendor Response Time: IBM Field Service Engineer in Kearney. Disciplines and existing contractual obligations include AS400\RISC\X-Series\Sun\XIV\HP\Net App and Cisco. In addition, local vendors with disciplines in Cisco, HP, Nortel and Avaya. Interstate bypass direct to site with Cherry Avenue project. Lincoln < 2 Hrs. Omaha < 3 Hrs.
- Geothermal Cooling: Site sits atop the country’s largest aquifer. Site wells onsite with drainage channel potentially available for used cooling water disposal. Ogallala aquifer average site water temp. 52°-55°.
- Free Cooling: The location of the data site allows for free cooling during 4,000 hours of the year. Daily temperature Avg. 48.7°-49.9°.
- Workforce: 6,750+ University of Nebraska at Kearney student workforce offering hands on Cisco, Avaya, Nortel plus CSIS programs. Central Community College covers a 25 county region offering 33 career and technical programs as well as customized business training.
- Nebraska Advantage: The Nebraska Advantage program allows for sales, wage and personal property tax exemptions. The program is a contractual incentive between the company and Nebraska Department of Revenue over a period of up to 10 years. Advantage to your company are set incentives not subject to appropriations or administrative change.
- Location Advantages: Kearney is located on Interstate 80, Highway 30 and within 15 miles of Highway 6 & 34. Kearney is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Buckle corporate headquarters ($750 million company), and Cabela’s Catalog primary call center. AT&T has a POP located onsite at Cabela’s. Extensive options for connectivity as a result of existing industry.
- Additional site and location advantages further detailed on following pages.