Construction began recently on the Google Hut in Carrboro, which will house servers and other technology necessary for Google Fiber’s new high speed internet service. The approximately 400 square foot building is being constructed next to Westwood Cemetery.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro are one of the few municipalities across the country where Google Fiber is being installed. Google Fiber can provide internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than standard broadband.

Carrboro residents, who live near the site, spoke out at last Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting. There was concern they weren’t made aware of the project or when the construction would begin.

Some residents proposed the OWASA campus as a better location.

Lisa Bennett was concerned that the construction could take up valuable green space in Carrboro.

“If Google takes over the site next to the cemetery that locks up one of the last open spaces in Carrboro. It put noisy machines next to the meadow adjoining the cemetery,” said Bennett. “We think that would be a prime spot for a municipal park and would hate to see that potential lost.”

Speaking with WCHL’s Aaron Keck, Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle said that any change in location would be up to Google.

The town of Carrboro gave Google several options of publicly owned lots on where to construct the hut.

“The one [location] we ultimately ended up selecting for lots of criteria, not just our criteria but I believe Google’s criteria of figuring out where it would be most accessible and best,” said Lavelle.

Another concern, of residents and the town, is how much noise the facility will make. The Google Hut will have a heating and cooling system, running 24/7 in order to maintain the servers’ temperature.

Mayor Lavelle said they brought this concern along with many others to Google’s attention.

“The requirements that we asked of [Google] in terms of buffering it and screening it, where kind of above and beyond their usual kind of contract when they do these Google huts,” said Lavelle.

The sound is expected to be as loud as two small home AC systems, according to Carrboro planning manager Trish McGuire.

There have also been other issues with Google Fiber installation, including water main and power outages.

AT&T is also installing high speed fiber optic cable in our area.

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