Microsoft closed Thursday on the purchase of about 600 acres of industrial-zoned land in the Woodward Eco Business Park, a site that reached certified-site status in 2018.
About 200 residents of the roughly 1,300-person town packed the Woodward-Granger High School auditorium Monday night for a 90-minute session with Mayor Todd Folkerts and three Microsoft executives: Senior Community Affairs Director Sara Hansen, Land Development Director Jackie Nickolaus and Government Affairs Infrastructure Director Cloteal LaBroi.
Community event
Hansen said Microsoft has never held a community event this early in a data center's development process.
Microsoft will fund all required infrastructure, including water and sewer upgrades, road construction and electricity infrastructure, according to LaBroi, who said a closed-loop cooling system would not draw on the city's water supply and that power would be purchased directly from a wholesaler rather than the local grid.
Folkerts said the city council must still approve a development agreement, and later a site plan, before construction can proceed, and he expects the facility to significantly expand the town's tax base.
Tight security
Security was tight at the meeting; one attendee was removed after confronting the Microsoft team, and about half a dozen protesters gathered outside, saying they also oppose data center projects in Ames and Boone.
