Data center is booming in Iowa — there are more than 6,150,000 square feet of data center space built or slated to be built in the Greater Des Moines (DSM) region. Some highlights:
- There is an average of 800 construction workers on site at Facebook’s Altoona data centers.
- To date, Facebook has constructed 1.5 million square feet of data center space and has 1 million square feet under construction. The total spend is expected to be around $1.5 billion.
- Microsoft’s data center buildings currently total a little under 1.5 million square feet with 1.7 million square feet planned for its third campus in West Des Moines.
- LightEdge Solutions has two data centers totaling 78,000 square feet in Altoona and employs more than 100 people.
- In 2017, Apple announced 400,000 square feet of data center space will be a built in Waukee. Construction will begin this summer.
The data was provided by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, an economic and community development organization that serves the region.
“DSM has built a reputation as a tech hub offering affordable renewable energy and high skilled talent,” said Jay Byers, Greater Des Moines Partnership CEO. “Data center activity means jobs for hundreds of tech and construction workers, revenue for local cities and increased national and international exposure for our region.”