Facebook’s parent company, Meta, could be building a new data center in the Borderplex Region.
The City of El Paso, the County of El Paso and The Borderplex Alliance announced Monday that a major step has been taken to support Meta — formerly known as Facebook — in developing a nearly $800 million data center in the Borderplex.
Although it’s been approved, the sale has not yet closed but is expected to by April 18, 2024.
Nevertheless, the Council and Commissioners’ decisions are a critical first step in securing the company’s presence in El Paso.
The City of El Paso is thrilled at the steps taken to establish Meta’s Hyperscale Data Center that will completely transform our community,” said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser. “This partnership not only signifies a significant milestone in our technological evolution but also reaffirms our dedication to becoming a hub for innovation, job creation, and economic prosperity. Our region has the workforce, infrastructure, and business climate to support the needs of data center operators. We look forward to the City supporting the final stages of this project.
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Today’s vote marks a first step toward a potential Meta data center project that could bring economic opportunities to El Paso County. I want to thank my colleagues, the Commissioners Court and the entire staff for their partnership. I appreciate Meta’s continued interest and investment in our County. Together, we can leverage new partnerships like this to help write an even brighter chapter for the future of El Paso County,” said County Judge Ricardo Samaniego.
The purchase price of the land is $8.57 million or $8,250 per acre of land.
Wurldwide LLC plans to spend $800 million toward developments and improvements of the property.
$400 million of that is slated for construction while the other $400 million will be put towards equipment for the data center. Jon Barela, CEO of The Borderplex Alliance said,
We are grateful that Meta is taking steps to place their hyperscale data center in El Paso. I congratulate city and county leaders for their foresight and commitment to job growth. Through firsthand experience and previous projects, I can attest that Meta is a fantastic company, and we would be thrilled to welcome them to the Borderplex region.
In a statement, the City of El Paso and Borderplex Alliance said, “This project, once established, represents a long-term investment in the community, fostering a diversified tax base through substantial capital investment and introducing a new industry that will promote innovation and create quality career opportunities.”
The data center is expected to bring 1,000 skilled trade worker jobs during peak construction.
Approximately 181 jobs will be available on-site with an estimated annual salary of $86,500.
The new center will likely bring $60 million in revenue to the city of El Paso.
Over a 25-year period, each phase of the building of the data center will bring an estimated $2.8 billion in capital investments.
Source
KTSM 9 News – [Link]
