Google data center investment in Fort Wayne grows to $2 billion
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Google 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. It was originally announced last October by city officials, but Google wasn’t identified as the company behind the development until several months later.
Google broke ground on the data center and operational support complex near East Tillman Road and Adams Center Road. 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.”
With the continued proliferation of artificial intelligence and technology, the governor added that data centers will increasingly become a critically important part of daily living, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and defence.
“There’s the old golden rule that who has the gold rules, I would take it back a step and say he who has the data determines and defines our destiny,” Holcomb continued. “For a state like Indiana in the heart of the heartland to be the transmitter of that data is a powerful position to occupy. This is a win-win-win across the board, and success attracts success.”
Describing the process of locating new data center sites as an art, Joe Kava, vice president of global data centers at Google, said the company looks for three things before investing in any location.
“We look for a skilled workforce, a welcoming business environment, community that wants us to be there and then of course, land and access to power and renewable energy,” he added. “[We’re] working with I&M to bring more renewable energy onto the local grid, not just to benefit us and our own commitments to power all of our campuses and data centers on carbon free energy by 2030, but also to bring resiliency, availability and cost predictability to all the I&M customers.”
Google was identified in January as the company behind the data center project, which at that time was just an $875 million investment. A spokesperson for the company said the original investment is included in the new $2 billion figure.
“We decided to approve additional expansion here; that’s a direct result of the environment, the welcoming community and that we’ve been able to move quickly,” Kava said. “The faster we can move, the quicker we can look at our supply and demand and say, ‘We have further demand here, so where can we fulfill that supply?'”
While the specific timelines for the project is not clear, Kava said the project was moving faster than normal, adding that similar projects were usually finished in one and a half to two years.
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 grounds keeping, 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 up the workforce needed for the data center, Google is bringing its Skilled Trades and Readiness program, or STAR, in partnership with Ivy Tech. The 6-week program offers paid training, a certificate and networking opportunities for participants to move directly into employment on Google data center construction sites or other local projects.
“A four-year degree is not necessary; going through the STAR program really gives folk a leg up because they come out prepared,” Kava said. “They can come straight into the skilled trades which are sorely needed through out the United States and also, selfishly, the data center industry.”
“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.”
Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker talked about her feelings on the project.
Tucker who was recently sworn in as mayor, gleefully announced Google’s additional investment of $250,000 towards community development.
“Those initiatives will go to the Fort Wayne Early Learning Center and Just Neighbor Interfaith Homeless network,” she added. “I can’t wait to see what else we get to do in the community together.”
Early Childhood Alliance creates a safe space for students and children to thrive and Just Neighbors provides homeless shelter and emergency care for unhoused families.
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 invest $800 million to establish a data center campus at River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville and create 100 jobs.
The data centers bring in tech jobs but also employs thousands of construction workers during the life cycle of the project, as well as contributing to the local economy in secondary ways.
“There’s direct investment and there’s the indirect benefit/development that happens,” Kava noted. “Our people are going to local restaurants, they’re shopping locally, they’re putting their children in local schools, that spurs economic activity and also new jobs creation.”