yahoo!

Purple will not become the official Genesee County color any time soon. Yahoo! has taken a pass on our fine county and instead chosen Lockport as the location of its planned WNY data center, reports the Buffalo News.

Town officials announced this afternoon that Yahoo! will present a site plan to the Town Planning Board at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A public hearing will be held June 30.

Yahoo! also has applied for a property tax break from the town Industrial Development Agency, Town Attorney Daniel E. Seaman said.

Supervisor Marc R. Smith said the 190,000-square-foot computer center will take about 13 months to build, and Yahoo! would like to break ground in August.

Genesee County is apparently on the short list of potential locations for a new data center for Internet giant Yahoo!, according to the Buffalo News.

If Yahoo! located the center in Genesee County -- or Orleans -- the new facility would generate only 50 to 100 jobs, but it might spur new high-tech growth in the region, according to the article.

Yahoo likes the region for three reasons, Schumer said.

It has a well-educated labor force. And because the data center would house computer systems and other equipment, the company likes the cooler climate, Schumer said.

"In this case, our cool Western New York temperature benefits us," Schumer said.

The company also needs a good supply of electricity, and it prefers clean energy, the senator said.

Of course, when Google was looking at WNY for a data center, it couldn't come to an agreement with NYPA on electricity for the facility.