2011: Goose Creek and Google

The end of the year also marks our 6-month anniversary at Goose Creek Patch. Over the next two weeks we'll be looking back at some of the big stories in our community since our launch. See more at Goose Creek Patch 2011.

When the Google data center first arrived several years ago, it was met with curiosity, but only a handful of jobs meant a bit less public fanfare than, say, Boeing. In 2011, Google showed the value of having a progressive, neighborly business in the region.

The internet firm partnered with the City of Goose Creek on several events associated with the city's 50th anniversary, including dive-in movie screenings at the city pool.

Those contributions were just a lead-up to the big announcement in October. With the city's ribbon-cutting for the Central Avenue makeover, it provided the first glimpse of what the $1.45 million downtown redevelopment would look like. 

But, as Mayor Michael Heitzler noted, the big news was what you couldn't see. The company will also maintain the system for three years.

Those within 200 feet of these hotspots have access to the city's WiFi service at no charge. The spots are in four areas: Central Avenue, City Hall on North Goose Creek Boulevard, the Casey Community Center on Old Moncks Corner Road and Felkel Field in the Beverley Hills subdivision.

Many municipalities don't have the money and infrastructure to provide access outside of what is offered by individual businesses. "This collaboration with Google will allow our city to be a step ahead," said Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler at the October unveiling.

Google's local operations manager Eric Wages said the company is committed to providing access to it's communities. And the data center has been busy on campus, too. They've been growing the data center and .