Along with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve, Apple CEO Tim Cook surprised us all with his appearance at the groundbreaking of the new data center in Downtown Reno.

Image courtesy of Las Vegas Review Journal

The new $4 million warehouse is a small extension of Apple’s already wide footprint on the Reno area. The company has announced plans to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy over the next five years, including doubling the size of its $1 billion data center east of Reno.

“We are pleased to be part of transforming downtown Reno to the vibrant city it should be,” Cook said at the ceremony. “Our commitment to Reno and Northern Nevada is representative of the commitments we’ve made throughout the U.S.”

Cook

Apple has announced that they will double the size of their already massive data center just east of Reno.

Apple executive Mike Foulkes announced last week that the tech giant will invest an additional $1 billion in expanding its data center at the Reno Technology Park. The park sits in the Truckee River canyon to the easy of Sparks and is host to Apple’s existing data center along with cloud services company Rackspace.

“We’re excited to announce Apple will be increasing our investment by an additional $1 billion,” Foulkes said, stressing that it will bring “hundreds of jobs in operations and construction.”

Northern Nevada is becoming a familiar home to the booming data storage industry. Demands for iCloud storage has been on the rise and

Google, Inc. has purchased 1,210 acres of land at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.  

Per the documents filed last week in Storey County, the Silicon Valley tech giant spent nearly $29.1 million on the land in the same industrial park as Tesla. Governor Sandoval welcomed the high-profile company’s expansion into the state.

“Google is an internationally recognized and respected brand and one of the premier technology companies on the planet,” Sandoval said. “As with all businesses, the state stands ready as a willing and friendly partner in the development of this site.”

Several parcels of vacant land at the TRIC, just east of Reno, were snatched up by Google. One parcel is a whopping 662 acres and the other its slightly smaller