Meta plans for $800M data center in Temple — what that means for Austin
TEMPLE, Texas (KXAN) — Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is expanding its presence in Central Texas.
It plans to make an $800 million investment — this time outside of Austin. The company is creating a Hyperscale Data Center about an hour north of Austin in the city of Temple.
"We sort of jokingly, but not so jokingly call Temple the northern-most suburb of Austin," said Tim Davis, the mayor of Temple.
Being about an hour from such a tech hub has it benefits.
Meta's new center will sit on almost 400 acres of land off Industrial Boulevard and Northwest H K Dodgen Loop. Davis said up to 1,250 construction workers will be employed to build the facility during peak construction.
The center, which is expected to open in 2024, will initially have 100 jobs. Davis calls it transformational for his city.
"There will be another $7 million a year in the city of Temple's coffers. The school district is getting so much tax revenue, they were able to drop their bond they have coming up from a 12 cent per $1,000 tax rate impact down to three cents," Davis explained.
According to the city, the center will have rows and rows of computer servers. Anytime you like or share something on Facebook or Instagram, that electronic data is what will go into those data centers.
Adrian Cannady, president and CEO of Temple's Economic Development Corporation, said conversations with Meta began a year ago.
"As we think about the timeline going forward, we should start seeing machines moving on the property in the next few weeks and a slab by the August/September timeframe, maybe erected steel by September," Cannady explained. "Hopefully by the first quarter of 2024 they will be operational."
Cannady said this project validates what city leaders have been saying about Temple's position on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth.
"As the community of Austin continues to grow north and as opportunities avail themselves in Temple, with the respect to land and knowledge-based talent, we are becoming a more attractive option," Cannady said. "When Meta puts a pin on the map in Temple, Texas, it really provides an opportunity for us to take that message that Temple can be a place that supports not only large-scale projects, but large-scale projects in the IT sector."
Experts said the availability of space and low cost of doing business are some of the primary factors attracting big tech companies to smaller cities and suburbs near Austin. They warn as we see the expansion of Meta, Amazon and Samsung in our region, we have to think about producing trained workers, as well as infrastructure.
"A lot will depend on the infrastructure, because congestion going through Austin [and surrounding areas] is an impediment to growth," said economics professor Stuart Greenfield, Ph.D. "The other problem you get into is, are we producing enough well-educated workers in the state, in this area, to satisfy the needs of these high tech companies?"