Google sweetens the deal for proposed Hermantown data center

HERMANTOWN — A draft development agreement and tax abatement plan made public Thursday show how both Google and its would-be host potentially stand to benefit from the company’s controversial plans to build up to a 1.2-million-square-foot data center in the southwest corner of Hermantown.

As the project continues to undergo

renewed environmental review,

the proposed agreements provide additional insight into what Google is willing to offer residents, if its data center aspirations can be realized. But concerned citizens have

organized to challenge the project at city hall, as well as in the courts.