Facebook has selected Prineville, Oregon, as the site of its first company-owned data center. The 147,000-square-foot facility will create 35 jobs when it opens in early 2012. Construction has already begun.

"This couldn't happen at a better time," Judge Mike McCabe, Crook County administrator, told The Oregonian.

Prineville has been hit hard by the recession. Its home county, Crook County, has Oregon's highest unemployment rate of 17.4 percent as of the latest state figures. Many are hopeful for the economic boost the data center could bring.

Oregon has become a prime location for data centers. Google has a data center in The Dalles, and Amazon.com is building another in Boardman.

Facebook has applied for a 10-year waiver of income and excise taxes from the Oregon Investment Advantage program. It selected Prineville partly for its dry climate.