Facebook announced that it will soon move forward with the development of its second data center in Altoona, Iowa.
The building, called "Altoona 2" will stand on the Facebook Altoona campus, where construction of the first local data center is slated to wrap in the near future, according to PC Magazine.
The City of Altoona Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the company's plans on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post. The blueprints will be presented to the Altoona City Council on May 5 if the review goes well.
The Altoona Data Center posted on its Facebook page that "a little more than a year ago, we announced that Altoona would be the home of our newest data center." Since the initial announcement, over 460 people have been working "every day" on the building. The first building was created to house computer servers and provide office space, Top Tech News reported.
The company also said Altoona 2 will be about the same size as Altoona 1. Facebook has been using a "modular and lean construction" approach in its focus on resource-efficiency in its data centers' construction and management.
Facebook has other data centers in Forest City, North Carolina and Prineville, Ore., Top Tech News reported.
Construction of Altoona 1, which was built in multiple phases, cost almost $ 300 million, PC Magazine reported
"With the support of the terrific partners we've found here in Iowa, Altoona will also be part of the cutting-edge infrastructure that will soon play a crucial role in connecting billions around the world," Facebook officials said. "We're thrilled to be here and investing further in this great community. More than 460 people, mostly from the central Iowa region, have worked every day on the project, logging more than 435,000 hours in the ongoing construction of the 476,000-square-foot building. We couldn't be more pleased by the progress we've made, and we're grateful for the kindness we've received from our friends and neighbors here in Altoona."
Facebook did not provide any details about the cost of the Altoona 2 project.
