Facebook (FB) To Build $1.5 Billion Data Center In Altoona, Iowa; Nebraska Had Competed For The Project

Social media giant Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq:FB) will spend $1.5 billion to build a major data center in Iowa, according to a report published Monday, marking an apparent win for the midwestern state, which has been competing with Nebraska for the facility.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company is expected to build a 1.4 million square foot data center in the suburb of Altoona, the Des Moines Register said.

The project, which includes a request for wind energy production credits that will require the approval of state lawmakers, will be considered on Tuesday by Altoona's city council and the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board.

If the initiative receives the required approvals, it'll expand what's becoming a data center corridor in Altoona. In 2006, LightEdge Solutions Inc., a cloud computing company, was built in the community, and Enseva, a data colocation company, plans to break ground on a facility this spring.