{"id":1173,"date":"2026-07-30T09:57:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salemdata.net\/johnpress\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2026-07-30T09:57:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:57:28","slug":"verrus-llc-but-for-the-grace-of-google","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salemdata.net\/johnpress\/?p=1173","title":{"rendered":"Verrus, LLC: But For The Grace of Google"},"content":{"rendered":"

Verrus and Google: The Publicly Documented Connections<\/h3>\n

Salem, Oregon, recently revealed that Verrus, LLC, was pursuing a data center whose estimated value exceeds 5 billion dollars. Verrus projects an investment exceeding 5 billion dollars –an amount equal to approximately 30 percent of Salem’s entire existing 16.7 billion dollars tax base. It is also on the order of nearly one-half of the combined valuation previously identified for Hillsboro’s extensive data-center sector, although investment cost and assessed valuation are not necessarily equivalent measures.<\/p>\n

The project had been kept secret from the public and several City Council members for approximately 15 months<\/strong>. The project was made public only after an affiliated entity successfully secured authorization for a property-tax exemption from the Marion County Assessor\u2019s Office, whose determination is a public record.<\/p>\n

In 2026, the State of Oregon passed HB 4084, which placed a temporary moratorium on enterprise-zone authorization for data-center projects. The legislation took effect June 5, 2026, and the practical deadline for securing authorization under the prior law was June 4, 2026. Alderstone, LLC, the named applicant for the Verrus project, submitted its complete authorization application on May 23, 2026. The Marion County Assessor approved it on May 27, 2026, just four calendar days later<\/strong>. There is some discrepancy as to dates in the Agenda packet.\u00a0 The actual Oregon Enterprise Zone Authorization Approval, page 127 of the Council package, states:<\/p>\n