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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGoogle now plans to spend $2 billion on its data center project in southeast Fort Wayne, the tech giant announced Friday—more than double the amount the company said the development would cost when it first disclosed its involvement in January.
The project is expected to create about 200 jobs over the next several years. The project was originally announced last October by city officials, but Google wasn’t identified as the company behind the development until several months later.
Google held a groundbreaking ceremony on the data center and operational support complex near East Tillman Road and Adams Center Road on Friday. The company said the campus will power its AI innovations and growing Google Cloud business for customers around the world.
The company’s investment in the Fort Wayne area also includes the launch of a skilled trade career development program in collaboration with Ivy Tech Community College, as well as a partnership with Fort Wayne-based Indiana Michigan Power to generate clean energy.
“Not only is Google choosing Indiana to power its global AI and cloud infrastructure, but we’re thrilled to see the company already investing heavily in the northeast Indiana community,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news release. “These initiatives will help skill up our Hoosier workforce, preparing residents for the jobs of the future. And, at the same time bringing clean energy resources to the region propelling continued growth in industrial sustainability.”
Google said in January that the project represented an $875 million investment. A spokesperson for the company said the original investment is included in the new $2 billion figure.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. is committing a 35-year data center sales tax exemption for a minimum $800 million in eligible capital. For each additional $800 million investment made at the site, the company will be eligible for an additional five years of tax exemptions, up to a total of 50 years.
Since the Indiana General Assembly created the sales tax exemption in 2019, at least eight data center projects have been announced across Indiana, including four since October.
The incentives are performance-based, meaning Google can’t claim them until investments are made.
The new jobs will include facilities, data center technicians and support services, including security, catering and groundskeeping, Google said. Officials previously said the new jobs would pay an average salary of $65,000, for a total of nearly $2 million in new payroll.
As part of the effort to build the workforce needed for the data center, Google is bringing its Skilled Trades and Readiness program, or STAR, in partnership with Ivy Tech. The program offers paid training and networking opportunities for participants to move directly into employment on Google data center construction sites or other local projects.
“There’s never been a better time to be in Fort Wayne,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker. “This investment from Google isn’t just about infrastructure or economic development; it’s about building a stronger tomorrow, together.”
Google said it would also collaborate with Indiana Michigan Power to bring clean energy resources to the local grid and power its data center campus. The company aims to run all of its data centers on clean energy by 2030.
The project is the latest in a series of data center investments in Indiana.
On Thursday, Amazon Web Services detailed plans to invest $11 billion to build a data center campus in New Carlisle and add 1,000 jobs. Its parent, Amazon, announced in December it would build an $87 million data center in the Ameriplex at the Port business park in Portage.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook and Instagram, said in January that it would spend $800 million to establish a data center campus at River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville and create 100 jobs.
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