Facebook building $1.5B Iowa data center expansion

Dive Brief:

Facebook is getting ready to expand its Altoona data center complex footprint, bringing it closer to its projected $1.5 billion spend, reported KCCI Des Moines.
KCCI reported that Facebook will request permission to expand one of its existing Altoona buildings. If approved, work on the new structure could start as early as this fall. Construction is currently underway on the social media giant's fifth and sixth buildings there.
The Altoona site is Facebook's largest construction site worldwide, according to KCCI. According to Data Center Knowledge, Facebook expects 800 construction workers to be busy at the data center site every day until 2020.

Dive Insight:

Facebook isn't the only company that's made the choice to place its data center operations in the Greater Des Moines, Iowa, region.

Last year, Apple announced that it would build a $1.3 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa. In exchange, Apple will get almost $208 million in state and local tax breaks. While the promise of 50 jobs at a wage of at least $29.12 an hour might seem a little meager for such a large contribution, local officials hope that Apple's move will spur other tech companies to establish operations in the area. In addition, Apple will pay $100 million into a Waukee development fund to help the city pay for infrastructure and other expenses generated by the economic boost Apple is expected to provide.

Microsoft also has a data warehouse in the region. According to Data Economy, the company should be wrapping up its fourth and final phase of construction this month. The 354-acre complex has a total building square footage of almost 3.5 million and estimated capital investments range from $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion. Microsoft's total package of benefits is approximately $20 million, and it has committed to donating $1.25 million to local initiatives.

According to an RTI International analysis, Facebook data center development, construction and operations activity alone resulted in a U.S. gross domestic product contribution of $835 million a year from 2010 to 2016, reaching a total of $5.8 billion. During the same time period, Facebook data centers created 8,600 jobs per year.