Meta’s $800 Million Indiana Facility Tests Data Center Acceptance in Midwest Markets
Meta Platforms will open a 700,000-square-foot data center in River Ridge Commerce Center in Clark County, Indiana, by late 2026, following a $800 million investment. The facility, one of 32 Meta data centers globally, came to fruition after Indiana passed legislation in 2019 offering sales tax exemptions on energy and equipment purchases for data center projects. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. committed a 35-year sales tax exemption for the first $800 million in eligible capital, with potential extensions up to 50 years for additional investment. Turner Construction, based in Jeffersonville, serves as general contractor.
River Ridge Development Authority entered discussions with Meta in 2019, paused during Covid-19, and resumed in 2021 before the January 2024 announcement. The facility will use a closed-loop cooling system with dry cooling, drawing from River Ridge’s water capacity of 12 million gallons per day, expanded from 6 million gallons through an $18 million to $20 million authority-funded upgrade. Meta requires carbon-free power, which Duke Energy will purchase outside its system and be reimbursed by Meta under a contract approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Construction employed more than 1,200 workers; ongoing operations will require only 100 employees earning salaries comparable to the $80,000 average at Meta’s Gallatin, Tennessee facility.
River Ridge recorded $3.6 billion in output and 13,304 jobs in 2025, including partial Meta construction activity. Since Meta’s announcement, the development authority raised its wage floor above Clark County’s $27.25 average hourly rate and increased selectivity in approving tenants. Uric Dufrene, finance professor at Indiana University Southeast, compared the data center build-out to the 1980s and 1990s fiber optic expansion, suggesting communities embracing such facilities gain infrastructure advantages for future AI-related job growth.
Neighboring jurisdictions moved in the opposite direction. Louisville Metro Planning Commission drafted regulations banning hyperscale data centers and restricting smaller developments. New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan requested a one-year moratorium on new data center projects, and Clarksville, Indiana moved to ban them outright, citing limited available land. A separate $105 million Qlevr data center proposal in Charlestown and another in Madison, Indiana also face local resistance over noise and environmental concerns. Dufrene questioned whether Indiana and Kentucky possess sufficient energy capacity to support additional large-scale facilities beyond those already under construction.
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