Gov. Bev Perdue said Monday that Facebook is expanding its data center in Forest City. The governor will be touring the site this afternoon.
Facebook announced the $450 million data center last winter and said at the time that it might expand depending on business needs.
The first data center is expected to open in 2012 at the site, southeast of Asheville.
More there 30 people work at the site full-time and the company plans to add 10 more as part of its expansion, according to the governor's office.
Data centers typically are not large employers — though the construction of the buildings have created several hundred jobs.
In announcing the expansion, Perdue's office said that more than 1,500 people have worked on the site so far.
“We believe the expanding operations and continued construction activities will have a positive impact on Rutherford County’s economy,” George Henry, Facebook Data Center Manager, said in a statement.
Western North Carolina is also home to Google's $600 million data center and Apple's $1 billion data center.
Mary Cornatzer has worked at The News & Observer for more than 25 years, covering the local music industry, state movie industry and travel. She has been the paper's Business editor since 2000. Contact Mary at 919-829-4755 or