Microsoft’s largest U.S. data center to be built partly in Warren County

Microsoft will begin building its largest data center in the country in Warren County in 2017, local leaders announced last week.
The massive data center will be built near the Cumming exit off Interstate 35. Plans include a facility twice the size of Jordan Creek, about 1.7 million square feet, that will bring in $12 million in tax revenue annually.
West Des Moines Mayor Steven Gaer said Friday at a press conference the 200-acre project will be a $3.5 billion investment by Microsoft.
Of the 200 acres, 160 are in Warren County and 40 acres are in Madison County.
“I’m an accountant by trade so you can imagine I heard about this project and I started rattling all these numbers around and it’s amazing,” said Warren County Board of Supervisors chairman Doug Shull. “Fantastic numbers and a heck of a project.”
The project will roll out in four phases over five years, starting in 2017.
The first phase, according to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, will add a capital investment of more than $417 million and more than 50 permanent jobs will be created.
Branstad, who made it back from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland just in time for the conference, said he “didn’t want to miss this [announcement] for anything.”
He said he’s proud of his state for several reasons, including its initiative for creating clean energy, which has attracted many projects like Microsoft.
Iowa leads the nation in its percentage of electricity generated by wind, Branstad said, with 31 percent. MidAmerican Energy, he said, intends to invest another $3.6 billion in the near future, so Iowa should have 40 percent of its energy coming from wind power by 2020.
“These highly technical companies look for locations that are safe from hurricanes, earthquakes and rolling blackouts,” Branstad said. “By all accounts the leadership we provided and the continuing commitment to renewable energy has made Iowa stand out as a good place to locate for companies like Microsoft.”
Shull said the project will benefit Warren County in more ways than one.
It will complete the last phase of the southwest connector, or Veterans Parkway, which connects Cumming to West Des Moines.
“The byproduct is 5,000 acres that are going to be developed as part of this project and that’s going to be tens of millions of dollars of projects in itself,” Shull said. “For me, and again I’m an accountant, the significance of this project is hard for me to describe.”
Jay Byers, the CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said the Microsoft announcement will further position central Iowa as a national data center hub.
“As you know,” Byers said, “a key ingredient to our region’s economic development success is the ability to collaborate.”