Facebook to Invest $750 million in New Data Center
Published on June 14, 2018
Facebook announced it will invest $750 million to build a data center on 340 acres in North Huntsville Industrial Park. Once construction is finished, the data center will employ approximately 100 people.
The company considered numerous locations across the country for the new data center and says it chose Huntsville for its quality of life, pro-business environment, and talented and available workforce.
“We are excited to be joining the Huntsville community. As one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the country, we knew it would be a great location for our newest data center,” said Matt VanderZanden, Director of Site Selection at Facebook. “We are committed to having a positive impact at the local level and look forward to a strong partnership with the Huntsville community.”
Mayor Tommy Battle says Facebook’s announcement is another endorsement of Huntsville’s reputation as a hotspot for technology.
“Huntsville’s Gig City strategy to sustain our position as a leader in the knowledge economy has brought us a company that knows something about creating connections,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “Facebook has built its business on connecting friends to family, businesses to customers, and people to the world. Huntsville is proud to be the center of these connections with the construction of this data center.”
City Council gave unanimous approval May 24 for Facebook’s project entity, Starbelt LLC, to purchase the 340 acres for $8.5 million in North Huntsville Industrial Park.
“This is another major step in increasing access to jobs in North Huntsville,” said Devyn Keith, District 1 Council Member. “We are excited to support the administration on these game-changing economic projects and to continue to capitalize on successes that will increase quality of life in the area.”
The Facebook announcement comes after a stream of economic development wins for Huntsville. “The Huntsville metro is being recognized internationally as a smart place to do business,” said Lucia Cape, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Economic Development. “The Facebook announcement is possible because Huntsville has invested in the infrastructure, focused on quality of life, and made economic diversity a priority.”
Facebook proudly notes its commitment to use 100 percent renewal energy and said a key partner in this project is the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will provide a powerful energy grid for the technology giant.
“TVA appreciates the determined effort among many state and local partners who helped out-recruit, out-prepare and out-train the competition to win this important project for the people of North Alabama. The success of our efforts proves that when everyone works together to cultivate the Valley’s assets, business and industry will come, making life better for us all.”
Facebook has established a new Page for this project at Facebook.com/HuntsvilleDataCenter . ‘Like’ the page for updates specific to the Huntsville data center, including job postings, information on how to join in the construction process, and more.
