Data center builder offers Kansas town residents $10,000

Amid a pronounced public backlash against data center construction in the U.S., one real estate developer is making an offer it hopes will win over one Kansas community: money.

Digital Realty is offering every household in De Soto, Kansas, where it plans to build a data center, $1,000 in utility and property tax credits for 10 years. 

“Digital Realty builds critical infrastructure that enables the modern economy, and we believe we also have a responsibility to help strengthen the communities that make this growth possible,” Andy Power, the developer’s president and CEO, said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The offer is part of a $20 million community investment Digital Realty is pledging in De Soto as the company paves the way for a 280-acre data center site. The company said the project, which will eventually cover 1,400 acres, will provide recurring tax revenue, create jobs and deliver other economic benefits to local residents. 

Digital Realty, a publicly traded company based in Austin, Texas, with a market worth of more than $67 billion, said in a news release that it is working with De Soto to finalize distribution of the $1,000 credits to households. 

The company, whose clients include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Nvidia, expects to create 250 permanent jobs for local suppliers and contractors once the site is complete. The initial phase of development will also support “thousands of construction jobs over time,” Digital Realty said in its news release.

A recent CBS News poll found that more Americans oppose than favor building a new data center in their area, citing concerns that the facilities harm the environment, drain local resources and raise utility costs.