Facebook plans expansion to Huntsville data center project; Price could now top $1 billion

facebook construction feb 2021

Ongoing construction is seen at the Facebook data center in Huntsville in February 2021. The original two buildings, announced in June 2018, are in the center of the photo and construction on what appears to be the third building is at the top of the photo. (Marty Sellers | sellersphoto.com)

Facebook has launched a major expansion of its data center campus in Huntsville with the total investment possibly exceeding $1 billion.

Huntsville officials said the social media giant, which also owns Instagram, is planning to construct two additional buildings for its data center after announcing in 2018 it was building a two-building data center with a $750 million investment.

“They have found success in Huntsville,” Shane Davis, the city’s director of urban and economic development, told the city council in November.

Facebook declined to confirm the expansion.

Related: Facebook comes to Huntsville: ‘This is the new world’

It’s not immediately known how many new jobs may be created by the expansion. At the original announcement, Facebook said the data center would create more than 100 jobs.

The city council in November approved expansion of the Facebook campus in North Huntsville Industrial Park. According to the amended project development agreement, Facebook purchased 197 acres from private owners adjacent to the original campus, which was about 250 acres purchased from the city.

Davis told the city council that buildings 3 and 4 are planned.

Of the original two buildings, Facebook told AL.com earlier this month that the first building is being prepared for servers while construction is nearing completion on the second building.

“However, today, we are not committing to any additional buildings,” Facebook told AL.com in an email last week.

Aerial photography indicates construction on the third building at Facebook data center is well underway. The city of Huntsville granted a building permit to Starbelt LLC, the company name under which Facebook came to Huntsville, in March 2020 for a “foundation” while subsequent permits in April and May described the project as an “addition.”

The Facebook announcement of a Huntsville data center came with much celebration in June 2018 with Gov. Kay Ivey revealing the secret as a black backdrop collapsed to reveal the Facebook logo.

“I’m glad Facebook sent a friend request to Alabama,” Ivey said at the time.

Facebook has also been an active corporate partner in Huntsville, sponsoring Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce events and donating almost $1 million to Madison County schools last year to make digital technology more accessible and a $100,000 to the state’s under-construction School of Cyber Technology and Engineering located in Huntsville, among other community efforts.

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