Meta Reveals Pick for $800M Project Site

Meta Platforms is set to expand its data center footprint in the Midwest with the construction of an $800 million, 700,000-square-foot campus in Jeffersonville, Ind., officials said on Thursday. Construction will begin later this month, and the facilities are expected to open in 2026.

The parent of Facebook, Instagram and other platforms is planning the Southern Indiana facility as part of its strategy to increase its data storage capabilities.

Local partners

The campus will be located inside the River Ridge Commerce Center, a 6,000-acre commercial district in Jeffersonville that includes office and industrial facilities targeting users in the aerospace, life science, manufacturing, logistics and technology sectors.

Turner Construction Co. is serving as the project’s contractor, while Meta is partnering locally with the Indiana Economic Development Corp., One Southern Indiana Chamber & Economic Development, as well as Duke Energy.

The project incentive package features an $800 million, 35-year performance-based sales tax exemption, with additional five-year exemptions possible for each subsequent matching investment. The River Ridge Development Authority and the city of Jeffersonville have offered further incentives.

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At the peak of construction, the project is expected to employ more than 1,250 workers and create 100 permanent jobs. Like all of Meta’s data centers, the facility will be powered entirely by renewable energy, and will be a candidate for LEED Gold certification. The campus will host a chapter of the company’s Data Center Community Action Grants program, which will aim to improve local STEM education.

With direct access to the Interstate 265, the River Ridge Commerce Center offers both quick transportation for employees around the facility, as well as access to Louisville, located nine miles to the south. For industrial tenants seeking to reduce transportation times and costs, the facility lies within a day’s drive of many of the Midwestern and Southeastern U.S.’s largest cities.

Midwestern moves

Currently, Meta owns and operates 17 data centers around the U.S., five of them located in the Midwest. Also in the works is an $800 million, 1 million-square-foot hyperscale facility located at the Golden Plains Technology Park in Kansas City, Mo. The facility is expected to be operational later this year, according to a September 2023 report from Fox4 Kansas City.

The Hoosier State is becoming a magnet for tech and logistics-related commercial property investment and development, attracting north of $28.7 billion from businesses nationwide, according to the governor’s office. On the leasing front, a recent highlight is Adidas’ June 2023 renewal of a 600,000-square-foot industrial lease in Indianapolis.