By Carol Cole
The Norman Transcript
 
A 150,000-square-foot Tier 4 data center is being planned for Norman’s Oklahoma Technology Corridor by Chickasaw Nation Industries.

The highly secure data center is a “hardened bunker” that could bring 1,000 to 1,500 highly paid jobs, said Don Wood, executive director of the Norman Economic Development Center.

The Norman City Council heard details of the CNI project at Tuesday night’s meeting and voted to approve rezoning from A-2 or agricultural to a Planned Unit Development for the 41-acre tract at SH 9 at the end of John Saxon Boulevard in southeast Norman. A preliminary plat also was approved along with a change in the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan from future industrial area and very low density designation to current urban service area and industrial designation.

Mayor-elect Cindy Rosenthal said she had the opportunity to visit with CNI’s CEO Deryl Wright.

“This is a growing company and I for one am very excited to see them coming to my community,” Rosenthal said.

Ward 2 councilmember Richard Stawicki said he wanted to point out that CNI has been a good corporate citizen of the state.

“It will be a pleasure to see them have more people work here in Norman,” Stawicki said.

“This is the best of all worlds and I think we need to celebrate it,” said Ward 1 councilmember Bob Thompson.

CNI is the multi-hundred million dollar economic development arm of the Chickasaw Nation, which has been renovating the former Saxon Publishing “Building 1” into its new corporate headquarters. Its first building is adjacent to the new site.

Saxon Boulevard would be extended south and would connect to a large internally looped “ring road” that would service the new lots.

CNI’s new data center, “Building 2,” would be equipped with redundant power, emergency systems to last 60 to 90 days, dual power feeds, dual IT feeds and the ability to withstand an F-4 tornado.

“It’s about as secure as you can get as far as redundancy and everything else,” Wood said.

CNI is working to secure federal data contracts and is in negotiations with the University of Oklahoma for a possible Tier 3 data center in the building, as well as some private company data business, Wood said.

The average salary for the center is projected to be about $70,000.

“There is going to be some great jobs out there,” Wood said. “There is going to be some variance from some clerical jobs for the government business to some very highly paid jobs.”

Protest on the project came from attorney Sean Rieger for Rieger LLC, which had been addressed before the council meeting.

“Their concerns were water and sewer and we agreed to give them access,” Wood said.

The property is owned by NEDC and will be in a long-term lease to CNI, with the lease amounts securing revenue bonds to pay for construction of the project.

Wood said CNI could choose to buy the property from NEDC for the balance owed on the building at any time and would assume the equity.

Building design on Building 2 is being done by Rees and Associates of Oklahoma City, with civil engineering for the site by Cardinal Engineering in Norman, with civil engineering of the plat and utility design by Clour Engineering.

Ward 6 councilmember David Hopper said he had some concerns about the project if the tribe were to assert sovereignty and decide not to pay voluntary sales and ad valorem taxes.

“I hate to be the only one to cast a pall, because it’s everything we’ve been looking for,” Hopper said. “I’m extremely uncomfortable with an exercise of tribal sovereignty. There is no enforcement authority if they decide not to pay. I will vote for this project, because I think it’s a good project. But I want the community to go into this with their eyes open.”

Wood said CNI is working hard to contribute to the communities where they do business.

“Check out their track record in Ada. I think you’ll see they do what they say they’ll do,” Wood said. “They are subjecting themselves to all our sales tax. Subjecting themselves to all our building codes. … CNI considers themselves a normal business. … They will waive their sovereign immunity on a case-by-case basis and will do that with NEDC.”