Much of it you can't see.

Business owners are more optimistic about Lenoir, which has been devastated by thousands of furniture-factory layoffs in recent years.

And some residents are angrier, worried about who will bear the costs. Caldwell County raised property taxes 22.2 percent this summer, months after commissioners and city leaders slashed Google's tax bill for 30 years.

"We've been sorta aggravated here lately, I tell you," said Mitchell Hughes, general manager of Ekamant South, which sells sandpaper.

Across the street from his office, 200 workers are grading the Internet giant's 220-acre site and putting finishing touches on a 100,000-square-foot building that will house the rows of computers needed to power its services.

Google announced Thursday that those workers soon will begin construction on a second facility on the campus.

The move was expected but is a bit ahead of schedule. It's a welcome development for local leaders, who were criticized for the size of the incentives offered to Google, operator of the most popular Internet search engine.

Google plans to invest about $600 million in Lenoir and hire 210 people. To win the operation, announced in January, county, city and state leaders promised tax breaks that could save the company as much as $260 million over three decades.

Leaders said bold action was needed to attract an employer that could help remake the region. Lenoir and Caldwell County lost more than 2,500 manufacturing jobs over the past two years as household-furnishings companies including Broyhill and Bernhardt shut plants or cut their rolls.

Those cuts rippled through the community as suppliers, restaurants and shops laid off workers to account for declining business.

Likewise, Google's decision to come to Lenoir has had ripple effects, drawing attention from across the country and around the world.

"We definitely have a lot more people interested in the city," said Misty Arnold, who owns Our Place Restaurant in downtown Lenoir. "Those who come in ask more pointed questions ... about real estate, the job market and what's up and coming."

The downtown was seeing a resurgence of interest before Google, in part because of the city's location. It's near Boone and Blowing Rock, which have become resort communities; land and home prices have skyrocketed. Areas such as Lenoir, lower in the mountains, have started getting attention for their lower costs.

Entrepreneurs have been refurbishing century-old buildings and opening stores. Since the beginning of the year, an ice cream shop -- owned by Arnold's children -- has opened, and a bookstore/wine cellar/coffee shop opened three weeks ago. Other new shops cater to those who make crafts and collect antiques.

Google didn't prompt the startups, the business owners say, but it has given them more hope for success. Google was "like the nitrous," said Ben Willis, who owns HogWaller Outfitters and whose family helped jump-start downtown redevelopment. "They were like getting a big hit of vitamins."

Workers are going back to school to prepare for Google jobs, which are expected to pay an average wage of $48,000 a year. At Caldwell Community College, about 200 people are taking the computer curriculum. Another 125 are enrolled or have completed courses in an information-technology institute the school developed with Google.

They are getting training to work with computers and softer skills, such as how to work in teams. They're not, however, getting job guarantees.

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