Despite intense competition from Arizona and North Carolina, Discover Financial Services has announced that it will build a $76 million, 97,000-square-foot data center in the New Albany Business Park’s Information and Technology Campus.

Discover Financial Services was the first company to commit to the business park in 1998 when it built its first data center here. That facility houses 1,581 employees. The new facility will expand its operations while adding 162 new jobs to New Albany’s workforce.

According to the city, the project was hotly pursued by several other states, but the city’s technology infrastructure, skilled workforce and streamlined planning as well as a collaborative effort between city officials, Columbus 2020 and the state ultimately tipped the balance in favor of New Albany. Had the project gone to another location, the city would have lost 700 Discover jobs.

“These other states were ferociously competing against us,” says Gov. John Kasich. “Not only did we avoid the loss, but we have exciting new gains.”

View a recent Columbus Dispatch article about the project.