Microsoft Builds Billion Dollar Datacenter in Iowa
“Project Alluvion” is reportedly the code name for the billion dollar datacenter that Microsoft plans on building near West Des Moines, Iowa. Sources say that Microsoft has purchased a 154 acre allotment of land in order to build out this infrastructure. The Quad-City times first broke this story reporting that Microsoft plans on spending $1.13 billion on the massive datacenter. The local newspaper also reports that the Microsoft will benefit from incentives provided by state and local governments to the tune of $87 million dollars. The new datacenter is expected to provide the area with 84 high paying, high skilled jobs.
Although Microsoft is known for being able to build out datacenters quickly, the project is slated to begin this year and be complete within 5 to 7 years. This investment in the West Des Moines, Iowa community will bring over $8 million dollars a year in property taxes to the local and state government. Eweek.com reports that this number wills represent 14% of the West Des Moines annual budget.
Terry Branstad is the governor of Iowa and he candidly mentioned that this “decision to again choose Iowa for another significant investment highlights our commitment to the innovation economy.”
Not only is Microsoft investing in Iowa, Google and Facebook have also made 9 and 10 figure investments in the area. A blog post on Google’s website mentions that Iowa “has the right combination of energy infrastructure, developable land, and available workforce for the data center.”
Has Iowa earned a new nickname? Many analysts have dubbed the area with the nickname of Silicon Prairie. Given all of the recent innovations and investments in the area, Iowa is starting to live up to that name more so than other regions of the country that have been using that nickname. As infrastructure in Iowa continues to grow, look for the area to become a hot spot for tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
