Facebook to Expand Operations by Building $300 Million Data Center in Central Iowa

It's official. Facebook is expanding to central Iowa.

According the Des Moines Register, the Iowa Economic Development Authority board is considering $18 million in tax credits for the social media giant to build a $300 million data center on a 194-acre site in Altoona.

The tax benefits will come from the High Quality Jobs program, KCCI Channel reported. The project is expected to generate 31 new jobs at a qualifying wage of $23.12 per hour.

Local incentives from the city of Altoona were also approved today, KCCI reported.

News of the project broke last week after local news sources learned Facebook was potentially behind the project, which over time could include a total of three data centers and a potential $1.5 billion investment, the Register reported.

The first phase of the project – a 476,000-square-foot data center – would likely house thousands of racks full of servers, and a few dozen technicians to keep them operational, according to an earlier story by KCCI. The data center will feature an innovative outdoor-air cooling system and the latest in Open Compute Project server designs, and it will be built to LEED Gold standards.

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds joined Altoona’s Mayor Skip Conkling Tuesday in officially welcoming Facebook to Iowa, KCCI reported.

"I welcome Facebook to the Altoona community,” Altoona Mayor Skip Conkling told KCCI. “Quality companies and development make our city and state an even greater place to do business and to live and play. I want to thank all parties for their endeavors in securing this project."

On the other side of the state, Google is hoping to expand its operations in Council Bluffs by an additional $400 million, according to an earlier story by The Des Moines Register.

The company already has a $600 million campus that employs about 130 workers, the article said.