Oracle plans Utah facility

Oracle Corp. said Monday it plans to build a $285 million facility in West Jordan for global information technology.

The business software company, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., said groundbreaking on the 200,000-square-foot facility on the city's west side will happen this summer, and the facility will be operating in early 2010.

The data center will have about 100 employees, with wages more than double the Salt Lake County median wage.

Kim Wells, spokeswoman for West Jordan, said Monday that the company is considering two sites on the west side of West Jordan, with each having the 58 acres the company desires for the facility.

Oracle declined to comment on details of the project when contacted by the Deseret News on Monday.

"Oracle is committed to providing our customers with the highest-level of service, and this new facility will allow us to support our growing On Demand business, as well as the technology infrastructure to support our research and development and customer-service requirements," Oracle President Safra Catz said in a prepared statement. "We are delighted to be creating a significant new presence in Utah."

The company will be getting financial incentives from both the state and local entities. The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Friday awarded a tax rebate of more than $15 million.

Board members said Friday that Idaho was a competitor to land the data center, and while Utah's incentive was smaller, it was competitive. The Idaho Business Review, using unidentified sources, reported April 9 that Oracle walked away from an agreement to build a data center in late March when a property owner in Meridian raised the price of the real estate as the deal was closing.

The local-government incentive will be through the creation of an Economic Development Area. Representatives from local governments will meet sometime in July to determine the structure of the incentive, which will total nearly $10 million.

The proposed incentive will involve reimbursement of a portion of the company's property-tax increment over the next several years. The incentive will assist with reimbursement for property acquisition and site improvements.

State board documents indicate that the new facility will result in $73.6 million in new wages over 10 years and $50.4 million in new state revenue over 12 years.

"Major corporations need a well-trained and highly-skilled work force, and the quality of Utah's work force and our increasing focus on work force development are crucial aspects for Oracle," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said in a prepared statement.

West Jordan Mayor David Newton said Oracle "will be an asset to our city."

"We are thrilled they selected West Jordan as the site for their project," Newton said.

Oracle has about 75,000 employees worldwide. It has operations in Utah, including at Jordan Commons in Sandy. The Utah Department of Workforce Services Web site shows the company has an office in downtown Salt Lake City and has 50 to 99 employees in Utah.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com