Page 7 - BusinessWest Sept. 29, 2021

Rick Sullivan says the Westfield data-center project, if it becomes reality, could open the door to new opportunities in the realm known as Big Data.
and scope affixed to everything from acreage to the projected cost of the initiative to the number of landowners with which Panteleakis and the Servistar had to negotiate.
That last number would be 11, just one indi- cator of the level of complexity involved with getting just this far, said Panteleakis, adding that finding a location and assembling the land are perhaps the biggest hurdle for a project that will
face many of them — everything from required approvals for a tax- incentive plan to steps to protect endangered species, such as the eastern box turtle.
As for securing a site ... a project of this nature and scope requires that a number of unique boxes be checked, said Pante- leakis. These include the ability to draw power, and large amounts of it, straight from the grid — two recently upgraded 115 kV high- transmission lines run through the center of the site — as well as access to a reliable, high-speed fiber communications network. Competitive cost of doing busi- ness is also high on the list, as is a skilled workforce and easy access to major markets.
When all is said and done, it certainly isn’t easy to find a parcel — or parcels that can be aggre-
gated — that can check all those boxes. “Finding the right location in New England
for a hyper-scale data-center development is dif- ficult,” Bartone said. “Access to the electric trans- mission grid, robust fiber communication net- work, sufficient land, and the ability to develop the project in an environmentally responsible manner are all very important issues that must be fully evaluated before proceeding with a par- ticular location.”
As noted, the proposal still has many hurdles to clear, but it’s not too early to speculate on what this could mean for the city and the region.
“This is somewhat of a new sector for us, so I think there’s an opportunity to get attention. Sometimes, getting that first development in a sector is the hardest thing, and then, once that happens, the others do take notice.”
Rick Sullivan, who can speak about the proj- ect from a number of perspectives — he’s presi- dent and CEO of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council, but also former mayor of Westfield and a current city councilor — said it represents an opportunity to show what the region can do for the emerging sector known as Big Data — and perhaps do more of.
“This is somewhat of a new sector for us, so I think there’s an opportunity to get attention,” he explained. “Sometimes, getting that first develop- ment in a sector is the hardest thing, and then, once that happens, the others do take notice.”
Jeff Daley, president and CEO of WestMass Area Development Corp., which has been hired as a consultant on the Westfield project, agreed.
“It’s an exciting project — this is a game changer,” he said. “If we get this project across the goal line, it opens up an entire industry; we would have the potential to bring other data cen-
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FEATURE
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 7
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