Google to retool 2006 Data Center; New River Road plant to payout in October

Google intends to carry out utility demolition and upgrades at its first data center, located at 4200 Columbia Road in The Dalles. The facility, which opened in 2006, was originally developed under a veil of secrecy. Local leaders and state economic development officials referred to the project by the code name “02” to maintain anonymity. Google later negotiated a 15-year property tax abatement for the site.

According to Wasco County property tax records, Google paid $5.1 million in property taxes on the building when it came onto the tax rolls in November 2022. That amount dropped to $3.69 million in total for Google and its development company, Design LLC, in 2024—a decline of $1.4 million over two years.

By Tom Peterson

The Dalles, Ore., June 27, 2025 — Google has received a permit to begin demolition work at its original data center site at 4200 Columbia Road, clearing out outdated electrical and mechanical equipment tied to its earliest operations in The Dalles.

The permit issued on May 8, 2025, marks the beginning of a planned retrofit for the site—at the same time the company works to bring two new state-of-the-art data centers online on River Road.

The work has major impacts for city and county residents payers as the centers contribute millions of dollars in local property taxes which help pay for services such as libraries, firefighters and police.

According to city records, the demolition will remove exterior infrastructure and interior finishes associated with "Data Hall DLS 83" while preserving the core structure of the data hall and adjacent utility plant. Wastewater treatment systems will remain active during the work, and green spaces—including mature trees—will be maintained.

The property value of the site will not be known until work is complete and a new assessment of value is complete.

Another view of the data center at 4200 Columbia Road.

"We're preparing to refurbish our first-ever data center campus in The Dalles, which opened in 2006," said Chris Mussett of Bend, Oregon. Mussett is PR manager for Google’s Technical Infrastructure division.

"This is part of a routine plan to remove dated equipment to make way for new upgrades supporting our products and Google Cloud customers. We’re excited to continue investing in Wasco County and look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.”

CCCNews’ reached out with questions about the timeline of the project and asked if the building value would eventually generate $5 million again in property tax revenue.

The company did not answer the questions.

However, city demolition permits are issued for 180 days, so it is likely work has either commenced or will shortly.

River Road Data Center Update

The Columbia Road work comes as Google's two new facilities at 3500 River Road move closer to full operation. According to Wasco County Assessor Jill Amery, the first building has received a certificate of occupancy, and the second is close behind.

While final property valuations are still underway, both facilities are expected to be assessed at a combined $1.2 Billion. Under Oregon’s Strategic Investment Program (SIP), Google receives a 50% property tax exemption, but the company has agreed to make payments for the remaining 50 % through a combination of community service fees, Guaranteed Annual Payments (GAP), and property taxes.

Those payments are already rolling in.

“The initial payment has been made on the first data center—$3 million split between the City and County,” Amery confirmed.

In addition to those long-term tax revenues, Google has contributed more than $5 million in sanitary sewer System Development Charges (SDCs) and over $134,000 in transportation SDCs for the River Road campuses. Stormwater fees were waived due to use of a private system, and water SDCs were offset using pre-existing credits.

In addition, Google has a credit of $6 million for Water system development charges and to date has only utilized $403,000.

City Attorney Jonathan Kara said the payments reflect a “significant investment by Google into local infrastructure,” and added that the city expects continued benefits as the new campuses scale up operations.

City and county officials noted that while the Columbia Road demolition may slightly lower that site's taxable value, the revenue from the River Road facilities will more than make up for it.

Once the 2025 tax roll is certified in October, the SIP-based payments will begin in full.

Officials estimate that Google’s annual contributions under the agreement could reach $5.45 million per year, or more than $80 million over 15 years, not including potential future expansions.

Those numbers could be dramatically higher if projections on development cost have ballooned due to inflation for materials and labor are up 20 percent in Oregon in the last five years.