Durham County voted to appropriate $750,000 in incentives to, in essence, buy 10 IBM jobs in Research Triangle Park, should IBM decide to build a data center there. The Herald-Sun reporter gingerly and diplomatically describes the deal as “somewhat unusual” (emphasis is mine):
The commissioners unanimously committed $750,000 over a seven-year period if IBM builds the facility here. The company is also considering locations in New York and Colorado.
“Your support will position both the site and Durham to be world-class leaders in this arena, as well as helping to drive potential growth,” Bruce Sargent, IBM’s Durham/RTP operations manager, told the board.
The president of Durham Technical Community College, members of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and a representative of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau spoke in support of the incentives.
The facility will be somewhat unusual in that it would only create 10 jobs but is expected to bring at least 1,000 executives a year here to visit the center. Over five years, the data center would generate $4.4 million in visitor spending, which in turn would translate into $150,000 in local tax money, Shelley Green of the DCVB said.
In short, Durham is trying to buy tourists.
