West DSM News

Microsoft is planning a data center expansion, with interest in expanding its Azure Cloud presence in Iowa, Virginia and Arizona, recently spending approximately $50 million on land purchases in Iowa and Virginia to accommodate additional data center space.

Microsoft purchased approximately 170 acres adjacent to its data center in West Des Moines, called Project Alluvion, according to coverage by Data Center Frontier. The two proposed data centers, known as Project Ginger East and Project Ginger West, are expected to cover approximately 1.8 million square feet each.

The expected development costs for the two new data centers would bring approximately $2 billion into the local economy, according to Data Center Frontier. That would include building construction materials and machinery and equipment.

The new construction on the data centers is expected to begin next September, according to Data Center Frontier.

Iowa is no stranger to continuing data center development, according to Data Center Frontier. Other hyperscale operators, including Google, Apple and Facebook, have opened data storage centers across the state.

The centralized location of Iowa helps companies to provide better service to markets such as Dallas and Chicago, according to Data Center Frontier. The closer proximity to those major markets reduces lag and buffering for users who are streaming content, and the central location also assists in data transfer originating or ending on either coast.

Iowa also boasts an advantage over places such as Virginia, where Microsoft recently made some land buys for future expansion, according to Data Center Frontier. A popular area for data centers, Virginia is also becoming a hard place for companies to find room to grow.

The company’s recent purchases there cost them approximately $625,000 per acre, according to Data Center Frontier. Yet, Microsoft has paid as much as $2 million per acre for other prime land in Virginia.