Meta Considering Massive Data Center For LEAP District In Boone County

Source: WISH-TV / other

LEBANON, Ind. — The parent company of Facebook and many other social media platforms is considering a multi-million dollar investment in Lebanon’s new LEAP District.

Meta and the city have been in conversations for a couple of years about the possibility of the company planning to build an $800 million data center in the Boone County city. On Monday, that data center came closer to reality.

“I started conversations with Facebook/Meta nearly two years ago,” said Mayor Matt Gentry at a Lebanon City Council meeting on Monday. “It’s been a long process to try to attract them to the LEAP site.”

Gentry said the company plans to build not one, but six campuses on 1,400 acres of land within the LEAP District. Right now the focus is on the first which was discussed by the council Monday. Tax abatements for the first campus were approved unanimously.

Jessica Schwarz, vice president of economic development at the Boone County Economic Development Corp., on Monday night, told the Lebanon City Council that the data center — four buildings on one campus, known as Phase 1 — would employ 80 full-time workers making on average $36 per hours.

That one campus would be an investment of $800 million by Meta, with similar figures for five subsequent campuses if all goes well with those as well.

The council also approved the creation of an economic development area for the proposal and gave its approval to the introduction of a proposal to support bonds to pay for the water supply to come from Citizens Water in Indianapolis to Lebanon Utilities, and for wastewater processing.

A few people spoke against the water deal during public comment

The Meta data center would need roughly three million gallons of water a day by around 2027 to 2031, which gives you a hint as to when the data center may come online.