Google in Clarksville: Timeline, from farmland to solar to high tech – The Leaf-Chronicle
Here is a timeline of milestones surrounding the former TVA megasite, which will soon be home to a Google data center.
September 2002 – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board arranges an option to buy the 1,000-acre Lawrence Teeter farm as property for industrial recruiting.
December 2006 – Property certified as a TVA megasite, a critical factor in recruiting large industry.
April 2008 – Clarksville megasite considered for a Volkswagen automotive plant.
May 2008 – Montgomery County formally purchases the Teeter property for $20 million to secure it for industrial prospects.
July 2008 – VW plant announced for Chattanooga. Leaf-Chronicle reports Dow Corning is considering Clarksville for a semiconductor plant.
December 2008 – Announcement that Hemlock Semiconductor Group, affiliated with Dow Corning, is planning a $1.2 billion polycrystalline silicon plant, initially employing 500 workers.
January 2009 – Regional Planning Commission approves site plan for plant. Core development will spread over 487 acres of the 2,152-acre project.
March 2009 – Ceremonial groundbreaking of Hemlock site.
December 2010 – First group of Clarksville Hemlock operators travel to the Hemlock, Mich., plant for hands-on training.
May 2011 – Hemlock confirms it is negotiating with Tennessee officials on an incentive package for a potential $3 billion expansion of the Clarksville plant.
September 2011 – Hemlock assures local government and industrial officials that, despite rumors of delays, construction continues on pace toward a late-2012 launch.
March 2012 – Construction on the plant is about 87 percent complete. More than 300 of the 500 initial production employees have been hired.
September 2012 – Production launch delayed to early 2013.
January 2013 – Hemlock says it will delay its plans to open the plant; 300 of the 400 Clarksville employees will be laid off in the coming weeks.
March 2013 – Montgomery County EDC announces that by end of the year, Hemlock will take over debt payments on the $20 million the county borrowed to buy the land.
September 2014 – IDB accepts Hemlock donation of 833 acres that have been part of its property, to use for potentially recruiting another large employer sometime in the future.
December 2014 – Hemlock announces the Clarksville plant is permanently closed based on “sustained adverse market conditions created by industry oversupply and ongoing challenges presented by global trade disputes.”
June 2014 – Dismantling of Hemlock facilities is under way, and is expected to be complete by end of summer, leaving the 2,400-acre site empty.
October 2015 – The Leaf-Chronicle reports on a possible new suitor for the site.
December 2015 – Google announces it will build a $600 million data center on 1,300 acres of the former TVA megasite, with an estimated initial 70 full-time jobs.
February 2017 – LG Electronics announces it will build a $250 million manufacturing plant on 310 acres of the site, with an estimated 600 jobs. That leaves roughly 850 acres of the site still available.
February 2018 – Google breaks ground on the data center.
Compiled from Leaf-Chronicle archives.
