Iowa to review plans for Apple's much-delayed data center

Five years after Apple first announced a $1.3 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa, plans for the still unmade facility are to go before the city's planning commission.

Apple announced its Iowa plans in 2017, with Tim Cook even visiting Des Moines to make a speech about the company investing in the state.

According to local news channel WHO13 Des Moines, only some preparatory site work has even begun on the project. Now, however, Apple's latest plans are scheduled to be reviewed by Waukee's Planning and Zoning Commission on February 8, 2022.

"Apple hopes to begin its complex on West Hickman Road with a 315,000-square-foot data center building," says WHO13. "The blueprint also shows future plans for as many as five more identical data center buildings at the site."

During his 2017 joint speech with the then newly-elected Governor Kim Reynolds, Cook said the data center would help drive Apple's future.

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"This new data center will play a very important role in the App Store's continued success," he said. "And as the App Store grows, we look forward to growing in Iowa."

It's not known why the Iowa facility has been delayed. However, separate, Apple has faced protests that delayed similar plans in places such as Athenry, Ireland.