Governor John Kasich at today's announcement
Governor John Kasich at today’s announcement

Amazon is spending $1.1 billion on data centers and other facilities in the Columbus, Ohio area, which will create 1,000 new jobs. The online retailer said it plans to hire locally.

“One of the reasons we came here was the workforce,” Amazon’s Paul Misener said at today’s announcement with Governor John Kasich and JobsOhio CEO John Minor in Columbus. Statehouse News Bureau chief Karen Kasler was at the event.

The state approved $81 million in tax incentives back in August for Vadata, an Amazon subsidiary, according the the Columbus Dispatch. In return, Amazon will spend $1.1 billion over the next three years on constructing and maintaining data centers for its Amazon Web Services division in suburban areas, as well as adding other facilities like fulfillment centers.

Construction on a Hillard data center has already begun, and the city of Dublin gave Vadata free land in return for building a center in its borders. The New Albany International Business Park will be the site of the third after a deal with Orange Township fell through.

GeekWire covered Ohio’s tech scene earlier this month. Check out our special coverage on Columbus Startup Week here.

Update: This post has been corrected to accurately reflect the scope of Amazon’s investment. 

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