A subsidiary of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has closed on over 200 acres of land near the company’s $800 million data center in Rosemount.
Jimnist LLC, a company that was previously linked to Meta while the data center was still operating under the code name Project Bigfoot, purchased eight different parcels along County Road 42 for $70 million last week, according to records filed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
So, what will the land be used for? The explanation given on the sale records states just two words: data center.
“We occasionally purchase available land in the event that our future business needs may require it,” said Stacey Yip, a spokesperson for Meta, in an email on Wednesday. “We currently have no plans to build on this land.”
Rosemount Community Development Director Adam Kienberger confirmed via email that as of Wednesday, the city had not received any development applications for the recently acquired land.
The purchase, which was split into two sales and includes parcels north of County Road 42 and west of Blaine Avenue, closed Feb. 12.
The sellers, listed as RGA Holdings LLC and RADS Land Co. LLC, both have ties to Ames Construction in Burnsville. Ames did not respond to a Pioneer Press request for comment.
Rosemount data center
The $800 million data center, which will be used to store, collect and process computing and networking equipment, is currently being constructed on a 280-acre parcel of UMore Park near Dakota County Technical College.
Spanning over 4,500 acres, UMore Park was bought by the federal government in 1942 for a gunpowder manufacturing facility. After World War II, the land was given to the University of Minnesota and used as a research site. Meta purchased the 280-acre parcel for nearly $40 million.
It was not entirely smooth sailing for Meta as some Rosemount residents voiced concerns during the planning process about noise pollution, water usage and Meta itself as the end-user of the site.
The data center is expected to support roughly 100 full-time positions once completed and will be powered by Xcel Energy.
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