Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, may be behind a planned nearly $1 billion data center in Beaver Dam, according to Bloomberg News.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that the state reached an incentive deal in February with an unnamed company to develop the project. Citing an anonymous source, the outlet reported the developer is Meta.
The project is expected to include a “multiyear investment of $837 million,” Bloomberg reports. The company has not yet made a public announcement, and local leaders have not disclosed the developer behind the project.
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A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. said via email the agency certified a developer as eligible for sales tax exemptions for data centers, which is the contract referenced in the story.
“WEDC has no comment on the Bloomberg story,” the spokesperson said. “WEDC does not comment on any discussions it may or may not be having with businesses unless and until a contract is approved.”
The news comes after the city of Beaver Dam, Alliant Energy and the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp. spent much of the last year working on a potential data center development.
The project would be located on a more than 500-acre site, called the Beaver Dam Commerce Park, that the city and Alliant Energy have been marketing for years.
The city has already formed a tax increment financing district to support the project, as well as approved development and water utilities agreements with a potential developer.
Beaver Dam’s agreements were with a company working through Degas LLC, which is registered to a Delaware firm that provides registered agent and compliance services to Fortune 500 companies.
In a February project update, the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp. said the developer has “demonstrated its desire to be a good neighbor and sound environmental steward” throughout the planning process.
“It is important to note that this tremendous financial impact would be realized without the need for any city borrowing,” the statement read. “All project investment would be supported by the company’s own newly created taxable value.”
The Beaver Dam Area Development Corp. declined to comment on Bloomberg’s reporting.
According to the city’s development agreement, Beaver Dam plans to use municipal bonds for around $10 million of public infrastructure improvements. The city also plans to bond for around $100 million in development costs. Those bonds would be repaid by the property tax revenues generated from the project.
The project in Beaver Dam is one of several planned data centers in Wisconsin. Others are in varying stages of development in Mount Pleasant, Kenosha and Port Washington.
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