Microsoft plans to spend $1 billion on a data center in Northwest Indiana.
The company will build a 245,000 sq foot (22,800 sqm) data center on 489 acres at the Radius Industrial Park in La Porte.
“Indiana is committed to being a central hub in the global economy of the future, and this latest announcement ensures Hoosier communities and talent will be key to widespread advancements in cloud and artificial intelligence technology,” said Governor Eric Holcomb.
“As a state, we’ve built a pro-growth business climate and implemented a future-focused framework to attract major investments in high-tech, high-growth sectors.”
Bowen Wallace, Microsoft CVP Datacenters, Americas Region, added: “Microsoft is excited to expand our data center infrastructure into Indiana, with our first campus to be built in La Porte.
“We look forward to an enduring and beneficial relationship with Indiana and the City of La Porte as we build and scale our data center infrastructure to support our customers and partners.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) committed an investment in Microsoft in the form of a 35-year term data center sales tax credit for a minimum $1 billion in eligible capital investment.
For each $1bn of investment made at the site within the first 15 years, the company will be eligible for tax exemptions for another five to 10-year period, up to a total term of 45 years.
The city of La Porte approved additional incentives, as did the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO).
“Projects like this happen once in a lifetime, and their effects are felt forever,” said La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody.
The data center announcement follows an $11bn campus investment pledge by Amazon Web Services in north central Indiana, and a $2bn Google data center campus announcement in Fort Wayne, both earlier this year.
