Meta to open data center in Rosemount in 2026

Meta is set to open a new data center in Rosemount in 2026, spurring local development in infrastructure advancements and job creation, the governor’s office announced Thursday.

The $800 million center will be entirely powered by renewable energy and create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 long-term jobs, according to the tech giant behind Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp — the apps the data center will help support.

The campus will be on 280 acres of land in the University of Minnesota Outreach, Research and Education Park, near the Dakota County Technical College, also known as UMore Park.

The state projects the Rosemount center to eventually generate millions in local tax revenue. It will be invested in the city of Rosemount, Dakota County and the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, said Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel. He added the center will “contribute to the growth of renewable energy resources in our region.”

Meta will also partner with the city and Xcel Energy on local infrastructure projects, including energy upgrades and new transmission lines in the UMore area. One major infrastructure project will involve the development of water lines, Weisensel said.

“This is extending our ability to go further east, towards 52, which eventually we will be developing in the 2040 arena,” he said. “This is just another piece of that growth pattern that we’re doing. With this large of a project coming in, this helps us, helps our taxpayers, our utility ratepayers, of minimizing that impact.”

Once the data center begins operations, Meta will launch its Community Action Grants program, said Brad Davis, the director of data center community and economic development at Meta. That is a grant program that provides funding to nonprofits and public schools committed to improving STEM education.

“Our commitment here extends to the residence, small businesses, nonprofits and schools as well. In each of our data center communities, we partner with schools and local organizations on programs and resources that help build skills and increase the use of technology,” Davis said.

He said initial site work will begin this month, with foundation building beginning in late summer or early fall.

Leslie Krueger, assistant vice president for Planning, Space and Real Estate at the University of Minnesota, said the center in UMore is just the first development in what will eventually become a light industrial business park. That park “will bring even more jobs and more tax base to our community,” she said.

Revenue from the University of Minnesota’s sale of the parcel will go toward agricultural research, she added.

Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the state’s favorable tax treatment for data centers, which can qualify for sales and property tax exemptions. He said even more data centers can be expected to follow. 

“So when we go talk to companies, where do you want to be?” he said. “Data centers travel in packs, they travel in groups and you get one and you get a big one. And we’d had more before. And so we’ll be more to this.”