The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved tax incentives today for a proposed Google data center in Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids leaders say this is the largest economic development project in the history of the city with a total investment estimated at 576 million dollars. Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell tells KCRG TV that Google plans to build six buildings on the site with a minimum of 31 jobs in each building.
O’Donnell says there will be other benefits as well. “What we also have to look at with a project like this is just the mere presence of Google, you think about not just the jobs inside the building, but the jobs to build the building. We’re talking hundreds, thousands of jobs over the term of this,” she says. O’Donnell says there will be suppliers, distributors and contractors that will a part of the construction and ongoing operation of the facility.
The IEDA board granted Cedar Rapids property tax exemptions for the project. City officials say they’re expecting to see dirt being moved on the site in the next 90 days.