Google will soon have its first physical presence in Arizona.
The tech giant broke ground earlier this week in Mesa on a $600 million data center that will help power “popular digital services” like Gmail and Maps, according to a news release from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Mesa Mayor John Giles said the city is “thrilled” to welcome the multinational company to the area.
“Google’s decision to designate Mesa as the home for its first facility in Arizona underscores its profound confidence in our city and residents,” he said.
The investment, according to Gov. Katie Hobbs, will be “critical” for the city and state economies.
“Arizona continues to attract global technology leaders due to our skilled workforce, dynamic economy, and focus on innovation,” she said. “We are proud to welcome Google to Arizona and look forward to the many opportunities this partnership will bring.”
In 2022 alone, Google contributed to $11.43 billion in economic activity in the state, according to the company’s state economic impact report.
A Google Cloud region also will be established in Phoenix to help businesses provide digital services more reliably and at higher speeds.
“We are proud to put down roots in Arizona with both the data center in Mesa and the Phoenix cloud region,” said Joe Kava, Google’s Vice President of Data Centers. “Not only do data centers help keep digital services up and running for people and businesses, they are economic anchors in the communities where we operate.”
As part of its commitment to improving local watershed health, Google made a $150,000 donation to the Salt River Project’s watershed restoration and wildfire risk reduction efforts.
