Construction has started on one of the largest digital infrastructure projects in Indiana’s history as Meta and Turner Construction Company move ahead with a sprawling $10-billion, one-gigawatt data center campus designed to help power the next generation of artificial intelligence.
The four-million-square-foot venue is being built on 1,500 acres in the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Lebanon.
The complex will eventually include 13 buildings – 10 dedicated data center structures along with logistics, warehousing, network and administrative support facilities – and deliver one gigawatt of capacity once fully operational.
The project, which broke ground in February, represents one of Meta’s largest infrastructure investments to date and underscores the growing scale of construction tied to AI-driven computing demand.
At peak construction, the project is expected to support more than 4,000 jobs, creating a major boost for the region’s construction workforce. Once completed, the campus will employ about 300 people in high-wage operational positions.
“This is one of our largest investments to date, and it marks an important milestone in our AI ambitions,” said Rachel Peterson, vice-president of data centers at Meta. “We’ve been proud to call Indiana home since 2024, and this project deepens that commitment, creating local jobs, supporting the community, and partnering with state and local leaders to drive real impact across the region.”
The massive build is being delivered with Turner Construction Company as one of the lead contractors.
Ben Kaplan, managing director at Turner, said the size and complexity of the project reflects broader changes underway in digital infrastructure.
Designed as a gigawatt-scale campus, the facility is intended to provide the bandwidth, reliability and computing power needed as AI applications continue to expand. Meta says campuses at this scale are increasingly necessary to support existing products and future technologies.
But the project is not just notable for its size.
Developers say sustainability has been woven into the campus design from the outset, with the facility being built to achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certification.
According to Meta, 100 per cent of the campus’s electricity use will be matched with clean and renewable energy.
The facility will also use a water-efficient, closed-loop liquid cooling system that recirculates the same water, a design expected to use zero water for much of the year.
Meta also plans to restore all the water it consumes at the site to local watersheds. Among the environmental initiatives tied to the project is a partnership expected to restore 200 million gallons of water annually for a decade through irrigation improvements in Indiana’s Upper Wabash River Basin.
In addition, the company is investing more than $120 million in critical water infrastructure and other public improvements in Lebanon, including roads, transmission lines and utility upgrades.
The company is also partnering with Arable, a company that helps firms achieve ambitious water goals and to provide irrigation technology to independent farmers in Indiana’s Upper Wabash River Basin.
The project is expected to restore 200 million gallons of water a year for 10 years and reduce costs for farmers.
In addition, Meta is revitalizing a section of the Deer Creek stream, which will improve the ecological health of the wetland corridor by expanding vegetation in the area and creating a better habitat for pollinators.
Beyond the physical build, Meta is pitching the development as a long-term community investment.
The company has committed $1 million annually for 20 years to the Boone REMC Community Fund to support energy affordability for families and announced an annual $1.5-million community impact payment to the City of Lebanon for each completed phase of the project, which could total up to six phases.
Meta is also launching a county-wide workforce development initiative through the Boone County Career Collaborative aimed at connecting students with work-based learning opportunities and careers tied to the growing technology and infrastructure sectors.
Indiana officials say the investment further cements the state’s growing profile as a technology and advanced manufacturing hub.
“Indiana has the business-first environment and the central location needed to support the global infrastructure of tomorrow’s economy,” said Indiana Gov. Mike Braun at the groundbreaking. “Meta’s significant investment in Indiana is a testament to our workforce and to our communities that will power its growth and its future here in Lebanon.”
The Lebanon campus is Meta’s second major Indiana project, joining its $800-million data center in Jeffersonville, and adds momentum to the LEAP district, which has attracted more than $23 billion in investment since 2022.
Construction is expected to continue through multiple phases, with the campus targeted to begin coming online between late 2027 and early 2028.
