Yahoo! to Build Data Center in Lockport BUFFALO (wned) - It's official. Internet giant Yahoo! is coming to Lockport.

Yahoo! plans on breaking ground on a new "green" data center in the Town of Lockport by August according to the company's Senior Vice President David Dibble.

In the Buffalo office of Empire State Development Corporation this morning, Dibble told a packed room of officials and reporters there are thousands of factors that go into running a data center and the region hit the mark for Yahoo! in many many ways.

"Between the strong, educated workforce, diversity in potential sites, attractive economic development opportunites and competitive hydropower rates from NYPA, Western New York is absolutely world-class," said Dibble.

Off the top, he says, the facility will employ around 75 engineers and other highly skilled people. Dibble says the jobs will pay in the range of $65,000 to 75,000 a year, plus benefits.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer calls it a "lighthouse deal for the region." Schumer says now that Yahoo! has established operations in Western New York, other companies will start paying attention.

"This is a beacon. The high-tech world pays attention to what Yahoo! does because they're known as one of the smartest companies and it will bring us many more opportunities," said Schumer.

Dibble says Yahoo's Lockport data center should be operational by next May and could add more employees down the line.

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