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Facebook will increase its massive Utah data center by 50%

(Benjamin Wood | The Salt Lake Tribune) A rendering of the planned Facebook data center to be build in Eagle Mountain. The center was announced by Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.

(Benjamin Wood | The Salt Lake Tribune) A rendering of the planned Facebook data center to be build in Eagle Mountain. The center was announced by Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.

Facebook’s massive Eagle Mountain Data Center hasn’t opened, but the company has already announced plans to expand it by 50%. On Wednesday, the social media giant said it’s adding more than 500,000 square feet to the project.

The original plan called for an H-shaped, 970,000-square-foot building. With the addition of a second building, the project will now encompass almost 1.5 million square feet.

“We anticipate with this expansion, this data center will represent an investment of more than $1 billion,” the company said in a statement. “And, once completed, the Eagle Mountain Data Center will support over 200 jobs.”

Although there has been “great progress” on the project, according to Facebook, no completion date has been announced. According to the company, more than 41,000 yards of structural concrete has been poured and more than 7,000 tons of steel incorporated in the building. It’s being built on what was 500 acres of empty land at the south end of the Pony Express Parkway, roughly 15 miles south of the National Security Agency data center in Bluffdale.

Facebook will receive roughly $150 million in property tax incentives from the Alpine School District, the city of Eagle Mountain, Utah County, Unified Fire Authority and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. As part of the agreement, Facebook will invest $100 million in road and utility enhancements for the west side of Utah County.

In its statement, Facebook thanked Eagle Mountain and Utah “for being amazing partners from the beginning. While we are just announcing one additional building today, we look forward to continuing to grow at this location!”

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