Mark Boone WCNC Reporter

It's been a little more than a year since a well-circulated rumor was finally confirmed.

Google is moving into Lenoir.

Lenoir Mayor David Barlow told me last year the Internet giant best known for its search engine had sworn him to secrecy. He convinced several homeowners to sell their houses and land but he couldn't tell them why they were being bought out.

Once the news broke, Caldwell Community College President Ken Boham mentioned there were plans to launch a sort of Google Institute, a course to re-train displaced furniture workers and others on skills needed in an IT world.

I decided to check in this month with the folks in Lenoir to see how things are shaping up.

Google's 215-acre campus is still secretive. Only employees are allowed inside.

The company did confirm some workers have moved in. Testing has begun on the racks of computer equipment that help power Google's Web site.

Thousands of people are expected to apply for up to 200 jobs at the Lenoir center.

$48,000 is the average salary. That doesn't include perks like the free catered meals that are available on the campus. Or the foosball tables and massage chairs that are standard fixtures at every Google office.

Also, consider the jobs are being offered in a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in western North Carolina.

It's easy to understand why people are excited about the potential Google brings to a community that has not had much to celebrate in recent years.

There was a lot of skepticism on how many former furniture workers would benefit from a campus that was lured with millions of dollars of tax breaks.

That's also a secret Google won't share.

Many of those displaced workers have enrolled in the IT Institute at Caldwell Community College.

It's said to be the first time Google has teamed up with a college and offered its input on a training program.

John Thomson, who once made $30/hour at furniture maker Broyhill before his plant closed, was among the first graduates.

He said he's made it to the final interview at Google. That came after more than 50 hours of face-to-face conversations with the company's management and employees. There's still no guarantee he'll be hired.


Donna Bean, who chairs the continuing education program at Caldwell Community College, said most of the students in the IT Institute are from Lenoir and surrounding towns.

Then there's the guy from Kinston, in eastern North Carolina, who quit his job, sold his house, and moved to Lenoir just for the chance to land a Google gig.

Bean and Google confirm several graduates at the IT Institute are now working at the Lenoir data center.

The company is still taking applications. Just Google "Lenoir data center" for information.

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