Curran and Puppolo urge state to select Tech as data center home

Date: 12/22/2008

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



SPRINGFIELD Where to put a new $78 million state data center has been a political football the last two years with some elected officials favoring a location at Springfield Technical Community College, while others favor renovating the former Technical High School on Eliot Street.

Still other officials noted the Patrick Administration might choose a location outside of the city.

On Dec. 17, Gov. Deval Patrick confirmed the data center would be in Springfield and two members of the city's legislative delegation are making the case for the Technical High School site.

State Reps. Angelo Puppolo and Sean Curran sent the governor a letter on Dec. 12 highlighting why they think the former high school should be the site.

Curran told Reminder Publications that renovating the long-closed school would "provide a foundation for economic development for that neighborhood."

Puppolo said that previous reports from the state's Inspector General have indicated the Tech site is the best.

"Sean and I are trying to reinforce that Tech is the site," Puppolo said.

Curran noted the Tech site would be much less expensive in the long run as the state already owns the building. Placing the data center at STCC would mean the state would have to pay the college -- even though it is a state-operated entity a rent of $800,000 a year.

Curran added the renovation of Tech would complement the on-going State Street Corridor project.

In their letter to the governor, the two representatives wrote, "A recent study by the Boyd Co. of Princeton, NJ, rated Springfield as one of the best cities in New England upon which to build a data security industry. This is a growing field, due in part to the private sector's need to safely store and secure its confidential company information.

"As Boyd states, spending on data security alone among health and insurance companies will reach $1.6 billion in 2009.

"Springfield is in a strong position to capitalize on private industry's need for data center security. Springfield has a large computer literate workforce and a number of colleges that train students in an advanced computer science curriculum. By placing that state data center in Springfield, we can position the city as a leader in the field of data security for years to come."

Curran noted the Tech building has been unused for 25 years and the data center would be a "one in a 25 year opportunity."