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Issue: 1069 Date: 2/17/2011
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St. Louis Downtown Could Become Data Center Hub
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| Unisys has opened a software center in a century-old building near the St. Louis riverfront. |
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ST. LOUIS - Century-old buildings, once home to printing presses, are now filled with digital data centers.
It's poetic, the New York Times says this morning, suggesting downtown St. Louis is on the way to becoming a "hub" for technology.
Regional Commerce and Growth Association President Dick Fleming agrees, saying that as many as fifty job-creating deals are in the making at this time.
"When a company makes a decision of St. Louis versus another part of the country or another part of the world, infrastructure and talent are two variables, which most people don't realize how important they are."
Fleming says St. Louis is one of two-to-three finalists for the operations centers and manufacturing facilities, associated with companies he describes as "Fortune-sized."
One case the Times writes about is that of Unisys, choosing to locate 300 jobs to St Louis instead of Minneapolis or Salt Lake City. A company executive said they wanted a "cool" building.
"We are hiring a lot of younger folks, and they like the look and feel of being downtown," he said.
Helping the growth here, relatively cheap electricity and downtown's easy access to fiber optic hackhaul.
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| St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association CEO Richard Fleming, Gov. Jay Nixon, Unisys President of Federal Systems Edward Davies and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay celebrated Unisys' move in November to 555 Washington Ave. downtown. |
Dr. Joshua Chen, President, Cybercon.com |
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| Cybercon.com brings international flavor and prosperity to downtown St. Louis, ribbon-cut on September 14, 2000. |
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