ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (AP) — Rosemount and Dakota County and Gov. Tim Walz smiled Thursday morning when they announced that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, would open an $800 million data center at Rosemount.
The data center will be built on a 280-acre UMore park parcel, which will span more than 700,000 feet, and generate 1,000 structural jobs.
While the task has been in the works for some time, I took the opportunity to officially announce and celebrate it at the Rosemount Community Center.
The Rosemount City Council approved the final site and construction plan for the assignment in December. At the time, officials said the knowledge center would create at least 50 on-site jobs.
The project, formerly dubbed Project Bigfoot, has encountered some resistance from citizens who have expressed concerns about environmental impacts, lack of transparency, and Meta as the end-user of the data center.
Councilwoman Tami Klimpel, a resident of the area, said at the time that she, too, had concerns, which had already been addressed in the approved proposal.
The sale of the 280-acre parcel to UMore Park was approved through the University of Minnesota Board of Trustees in September.
Proceeds from the sale of approximately $40 million will go to the UMore Park Legacy Fund, which is used to fund special education and outreach projects.
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