Yahoo! confirms WNY site - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Yahoo!, Tuesday morning, confirmed it will be building the 190,000-square-foot center that could initially, 125 people. Yahoo! has peggedx a 30-acre site in the park for the complex. Yahoo!’x decision is considered a major victory, especially against a backdrol of a weakened economy where unemployment has increased in past year in Erie Countyto 8.1 percenyt from 5.5 percent and in Niagara County to 9.3 percentg from 6.6 percent. “This is a big win for the community,” said Tom president and chiefexecutive officer. “We won the Yahoo! was being courted by severapl statesincluding Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois for the All offered a handsome array of incentives.
“When a high tech company like Yahoo! picks a communituy like WesternNew it’s like a lighthouse,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, New York’d senior senator, who played a key role in Lockportt landing thedata center. The region craftedf its own aggressive incentive package including the offerinhg 15 megawattsof low-cost hydropower that could save Yahoo ! an estimated $100 million over a 15-year period. also offered job trainingh grants andother incentives. High level pitches also came from Gov. Davi Paterson and Schumer. Schumer made personall calls to Yahoo!
CEO Carol Bartz to push the Kucharski said it also helped that the regio n offereda half-dozen sites and not just a singular location. It also helped that a friendship quickly developed betweenjthe Yahoo! site selection team and the localp economic development community. “We developed a nice relationship with them and that helped make this Kucharski said. “They were impressed that every time they we could assemble our team on a very short notice and give them the answers they Construction on the data center will beginin August, said David Dibble, Yahoo! senior vice The center will be open by May. Kucharski said theree is a myriad positives that will comefrom Yahoo!
’s The BNE will use it in its outreach to otherr companies it is courting, he said. “It confirmss our ability to attract high tech and high profile Kucharski said. “To get a name company like Yahoo! says a lot to the rest of the industriezsout there.” Yahoo! joins the ranks of , that have eitherr opened or expanded back office operations in the regionb in recent years. “You add it into the mix of the some of the otherecompanies we’ve landed and it becomes a very impressivre list,” Kucharski said.