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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Facebook Invests Almost $300 Million In Altoona, Iowa, Data Center

04/23/2013
Facebook likes Altoona, Iowa. The company will invest a minimum of $299.5 million to establish its newest data center on a 194-acre site in Altoona, where it expects to create hundreds of construction jobs and dozens of full-time operations jobs.

Gov. Terry Branstad’s Office said the first phase of the project will result in a 476,000-square foot data center that will be among the most advanced and energy efficient of its kind. 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.The Altoona site could accommodate up to two additional data center buildings that may be constructed in future phases of the project.

“We’re thrilled to become a part of the Altoona community, and especially appreciative of all the partners who helped make this project happen,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of infrastructure engineering for Facebook. “Facebook’s mission is to connect the world. Thanks to Iowa, we’re building the global infrastructure to bring the next billion people online.”

“I welcome Facebook to the Altoona community,” said Altoona Mayor Skip Conkling. “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.”

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved $18 million in tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program to Facebook to create at least 31 new jobs at a qualifying wage of $23.12 per hour. The project will have a minimum capital investment of $299.5 million. Local incentives from the city of Altoona were also approved today.

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