Facebook said it plans to build an $800 million, 907,000-square-foot data center in DeKalb, Illinois.
It will be the social media company's 12th data center in the U.S., and will be built on 505 acres on Route 23 and Gurler Road.
Rachel Peterson, vice president of data center strategy for Facebook, said about 1,000 construction workers are expected to begin working on the facility and about 100 workers will work in the facility when it's complete.
When it's built, she said the facility will use 100% renewable energy for its power.
"We selected this site because of the robust infrastructure, access to renewable energy, a strong pool of talent for us to draw from, and a great set of community partners," Peterson said in a Facebook video announcing the new data center.
"This is going to knock the socks off of folks, it really is. ... The key advantage of a development like this, let's face it, is financial. But it is going to be so much more than that. We're going to have more property tax revenue, we're gonna have more growth in population, we're gonna have a resulting increase in sales taxes," DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith said in the video.
"The construction of the Facebook facility will be a mecca for every imaginable construction trade," Bill Niklas, DeKalb's city manager, said in the video. He also mentioned that Facebook will give the city a new identity.
WIFR-TV in Rockford reported that the project will include building nearly three miles of water lines, one and a half miles of sewer extension and repaving local roads. Mortenson Construction was selected as the general contractor for the DeKalb Data Center.
