DEVELOPMENT: Rural Cambria field is marked territory for HSBC data center

By Jill Terreri/terrerij@gnnewspaper.com

Lori Hoover and her husband put their Cambria house on the market and sold it within a month.

“The growth we’ve seen in the past year is amazing,” said Hoover, who owns Honeymoon Trail Winery with her husband, Garry.

New houses have been sprouting in the agricultural community that just over 5,000 people call home, but the growth is about to get more intense.

The construction of a $1 billion HSBC data center will bring a highly technical development to a town that doesn’t have a McDonald’s and has tried to stay true to its rural past. The town seems to be in favor of the project. A few people spoke out against the tax breaks the bank will receive during a public hearing but opposition to the project itself never materialized. While the company will save $89.5 million in taxes, most of that sales tax on equipment, it will add $14.5 million to town, school district and county coffers in property tax payments over 15 years.

When the bank is going to start building — and begin employing about 350 construction workers — is a question the town can’t answer.

The company has not applied for building permits, which are needed in order for construction to begin.

A company spokeswoman did not know when construction will start and offered few details about the project.

“HSBC is in the planning phase regarding this and other similar data center facilities around the U.S.,” said Linda Recupero, executive vice president of group public affairs. “As always, we will take appropriate steps to update the local officials and the communities as we progress.”

According to the company’s application to the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, construction on the project was to begin in the second quarter of this year, with completion at the end of 2008.

Cambria has made strides to protect the rights of farmers, who are members of its largest industry, but it is also embracing the international bank, which purchased 77 acres of former farm land and plans to bring in 56 employees.

“We’re certainly ready for it,” said Supervisor Wright Ellis. “It’s a much bigger operation ... than we’ve had.”

Ellis said he’s fielded one complaint, from someone concerned about preserving farm land. Other feedback has been positive.

Cambria’s claim to fame is the fact that it is the county’s first town. Its population actually grew from 4,779 people in 1990 to 5,462 in 2006, unlike many of Niagara County’s municipalities.

The draw has been Cambria’s scenic rural landscape and slower pace. The commotion of Transit Road and Niagara Falls Boulevard seem far away from the town’s many fruit farms.

For folks like the Hoovers, who are moving to a neighboring town but are keeping their business in Cambria, it’s good news that well-paid professionals will be traveling to the town every day.

“Right now, wine is huge,” Hoover said.

The process of getting HSBC to come to Niagara County was something of a mystery, even for those involved.

At the time the bank’s technology and services division was looking into potential sites, the county didn’t know that all of the bank’s data operations could have been consolidated in a single location in Illinois.

In fact, they didn’t know it was HSBC was asking for information about the county.

Companies interested in expansion usually hire site selectors, who drive around without anyone knowing. They’ve been known to take pictures and visit potential sites.

If they like what they see, they contact the county’s Economic Development Department, which supplies information without knowing the identity of the actual potential client.

To get more leads, the county has joined the Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise, which helps ensure the county doesn’t get left out when a big company is looking to locate in Western New York, said Samuel Ferraro, commissioner of the county’s Economic Development Department.

It is thought that clean sites, a lot of land and a remote location had something to do with the bank’s choice.

When a company like HSBC comes to Niagara County, other companies take notice, Ferraro said.

Contact reporter Jill Terreriat 282-2311, ext. 2250.

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