Facebook: University of Minnesota permits $40 million data center property sale to Meta

The University of Minnesota (UoM) Board of Regents has authorized the $39.7 million land sale to Meta. The 280-acre tract of land in UMore Park has been sold to Jimnist LLC, a subsidiary of Meta, for a data center.

The land that comprises UMore Park is located in Rosemount and is bordered by County Road 43. In a filing with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a $700 million data center development, Meta verified last week that it was behind the Jimnist application. The transaction was approved on September 7 and is anticipated to close by the end of January 2024. 

As specified in the filing, Meta will use the five-building data center campus to store computing and networking hardware "for the purpose of collecting, storing, processing, distributing, or allowing access to large amounts of data." Once construction begins, the data center is anticipated to create approximately 1,000 construction jobs and more than 50 permanent positions.

According to Leslie Krueger, the vice president's aide for planning, space, and real estate at the University, the proceeds from the transaction will be donated to the UMore Park Legacy Fund, which supports special education and outreach initiatives.

UMore Park has a mining operation, hundreds of townhouses currently being built, and a total area of about 7,100 acres.