16 years after purchasing the property in the Kronstorf-Hargelsberg industrial development area, Google has so far left few traces. While doubts about whether the tech giant will ever build the data center are growing louder, tactics for further corporate settlements on the still vacant 20-hectare site have changed.
“Austria is not exactly attractive for investment at the moment,” wrote one person. “That will never happen,” said another firmly. There has been a heated discussion on krone.at recently because Google’s plans for a data centre in the Kronstorf-Hargelsberg industrial development area are still unclear, even 16 years after purchasing the area, as to when and if a location for the tech giant will ever be built there.
“From the outside, you might think that nothing is happening,” says Christian Kolarik, the mayor of Kronstorf. However, he and Christoph Lichtenauer, the mayor of Hargelsberg, can counter the critics by saying that all the investments made were due to agreements on Google’s behalf: a lot has already been done, especially for the infrastructure, and Netz OÖ has also built a substation.
However, the never-ending story surrounding Google has led to a change of strategy: we are no longer looking for a buyer for the remaining 20 hectares of the business development area.
“There are always interested people”
“There is only one building law,” says Kolarik. This means that the land remains the property of the Kronstorf-Hargelsberg industrial development area and a company can then use the location for a maximum of 99 years. Is anything happening here yet? “There are always interested parties, we have good discussions,” says Kolarik. There is enough speculation, the name Amazon keeps coming up.
Solution: The rear derailleur is upgraded
One thing is certain: because the green light was given to upgrade the electricity grid in the central area to 220 kilovolts, the former switching station in the Winkling district will become a substation. Construction will start in July.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
