By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
The run-down factory that was once famous for producing one of America’s most beloved pasta brands left its spaghetti past behind and is now going through some major changes.
Markley Cloud Services
The Prince Macaroni plant in Lowell, MA, will be redeveloped into a giant data center by the Markley Group, one of the largest internet and cloud computing companies in New England. Earlier this month, the tech company purchased the massive, 14.4-acre site at 2 Prince Ave. from an investment group led by Jerrold Kaplan, according to the Lowell Sun. Markley paid $3.85 million for the property—only $30,000 more than what Kaplan and his business partners paid after winning the auction of the foreclosed pasta factory one year ago.
Markley already started converting the 350,000-square-foot industrial building into a master-planned 50 megawatt mission-critical data center that will be available to businesses in New England and across the country. The project will be developed in phases, with the first 50,000 square feet of data storage space available starting this fall. Markley announced it will invest $200 million towards the transformation of the three-story building, which will eventually grow to be an extension of the company’s existing 920,000-square-foot facility at One Summer St. in Boston.
“In keeping with our philosophy of best-in-class offerings, the Lowell facility will be a state-of-the-art, world-class facility,” said Jeffrey D. Markley, CEO of Markley Group. “With One Summer Street being the center of the universe for network connectivity in the region, our diverse dark fiber pathways to Lowell will extend those advantages to clients of the facility.”
Additionally, Markley plans to hire 100 local technical workers at the new data center over the next two decades. As reported by the Lowell Sun, the internet company received a 20-year tax break from the city. This translates into $77 million in savings on property and personal property taxes over the lifetime of the tax agreement.
The Prince Macaroni plant in Lowell, MA, sat almost completely vacant since July 1997, when the Borden company decided to cease production. One year later the property was sold to Dutton Yarn, a textile company.
Image via Markley Cloud Services