West Des Moines to spend $15 million to help Microsoft's newest data center

West Des Moines plans to build more than $15 million worth of new roads, conduits for fiber internet cables, storm sewers and other infrastructure to welcome Microsoft's latest data center to the community.

It's been public knowledge for months that the city and Microsoft have been working together to bring the company's sixth data center in West Des Moines, called Ruthenium, on 132 acres bounded by Southwest 60th Street, 110th Street, Woodland Avenue and Veterans Parkway in Madison County. But it was on Monday that the West Des Moines City Council unanimously approved a development agreement with Microsoft for Ruthenium — an at least $210 million investment by the tech company.

West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble pointed out the scope of Microsoft's place in the community.

“Microsoft, I believe, is the largest property taxpayer in our city," Trimble said at Monday's meeting.

Ryan Moffatt, the city's director of community and economic development, said in an email that it's estimated the Ruthenium project would bring Microsoft's total data center investment in West Des Moines to more than $6 billion.

How much construction and employment will Microsoft's latest data center bring to West Des Moines?

Microsoft's $210 million investment will pay for the Ruthenium project's first phase — one 245,000-square-foot facility to "house computer equipment, operate large scale web portal services, and associated support infrastructure," according to the development agreement.

It's possible Microsoft may build three more data center buildings at the site. Some site preparation work for the first building should begin in 2025, with construction of the building set to start in 2026. It's set to be finished in 2028.

That first building is expected to employee at least 25 full-time workers.

Trimble estimated that with Ruthenium, Microsoft would employ a total of about 400 people in the area. But when it comes to employment, the real punch the data centers pack is in construction jobs, which a city news release estimated for Ruthenium alone would number in the hundreds.

Microsoft's other data centers in West Des Moines are spread over three other counties:

• Project Mountain — 8855 Grand Ave., Dallas County

• Project Alluvion — 3590 S.E. Soteria Ave., Polk County

• Project Osmium — 5855 S.W. Kerry St., Warren County

• Project Ginger West — 11100 Booneville Road, Dallas County

• Project Ginger East — 1475 S.E. Maffitt Lake Road, Polk County

More: Microsoft's Van Meter data center signals expansion beyond West Des Moines

The public incentives offered to Microsoft by way of infrastructure improvements also open up more land around the data centers for further development — more than 4,500 acres so far, according to West Des Moines' news release. The city also calculated that the public infrastructure improvements have totaled almost $200 million.

West Des Moines says it's working to address data center neighbors' concerns as much as possible

Microsoft and other tech companies like to build in central Iowa because of the relatively low cost of land and utilities.

The city of Waukee noted in April that construction of the first phase of an Apple data center at 2995 W. Hickman Road was nearing completion. That 315,000-square-foot facility includes a 63,000-square-foot administrative building, according to the city.

Apple announced the more than $1.3 billion project in 2017 and had originally estimated completion in 2020. But the company in late 2019 got an extension until December 2027 to finish both buildings and still receive more than $213 million in state and local tax incentives.

Data centers' large-scale use of land, water and energy have raised concerns, including by nearby property owners.

Microsoft previously told the Associated Press that it was investing in ways to make use of artificial intelligence — some of which the tech company has developed at its Iowa facilities — more energy and water efficient and to reduce climate change-driving greenhouse gas emissions.

Microsoft has been since at least 2019 among the top three water users in West Des Moines, according to reports from West Des Moines Water Works. In 2023, the company used more than 41 million gallons of water — about 1.5% of all the water that was pumped in the district that year, and the third-highest user.

The water is used to keep the computer equipment inside the data centers cool.

The data centers in West Des Moines are powered completely with renewable energy, according to the city's news release. Apple made the same commitment in the announcement for its Waukee facility.

"City staff have committed to facilitating meetings between the Microsoft Corporation and the surrounding property owners to discuss screening solutions, construction management, light spillover, and other issues in an effort to have this project be as compatible as possible to adjoining properties," West Des Moines' news release said.

Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New Microsoft data center in West Des Moines worth $210 million