Google is developing a $1 billion data center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The data center will be located at the Hunt Midwest Business Center.
The cloud giant first purchased 78.9 acres in Northland, Kansas City, in 2019, followed by another 236.4 acres in December 2021, at the time stating that it was for a "potential data center." Moves on the project began to be made in September 2023, when Google filed planning applications.
In October, Google shared that the data center campus will be developed over four phases and feature several ancillary buildings for a total of 1.435 million sq ft (133,316 sqm) of floor space.
According to Monique Picou, global vice president of cloud supply chain and operations, the company's continued investment in technical infrastructure such as data centers is the "backbone" for supporting its AI innovations and business growth.
“Google’s selection of the Kansas City region is another example of our state’s ability to attract and support world-class companies,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Our skilled workforce, superior infrastructure, and prime business climate continue to result in investments from leading employers. We welcome Google to Missouri and look forward to the positive impact it will provide for our growing high-tech sector.”
Power for the facility will be provided via a power purchase agreement with Evergy, Ranger Power, and DESRI to add 400MW of carbon-free energy capacity from the Missouri-based Beavertail Solar farm which is built on a former coal community.
Google has committed to bringing its Skilled Trades and Readiness (STAR) program to Kansas City to help increase the entry-level job pipelines, particularly for underrepresented communities.
Kansas City was the first in the world to receive Google Fiber, a fiber broadband Internet and IPTV service operated by the company.
It is the most connected area in the US with 5.5 million miles of fiber and 19 data centers in the region, including Netsmart Technologies, MasterCard International, and T-Mobile.
Also in the Northland area, Meta is developing a data center in the Golden Plains Park. Facebook's parent company committed to spending more than $800 million on developing the one million sq ft (92,900 sqm) data center. That campus is being developed by Diode Ventures. Diode is looking to develop another site known as Rocky Branch Creek Technology Park, also in Northland, Kansas City with up to 270MW of capacity.
