Apple's data center in Waukee, Iowa, is finally online (Credit: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)
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Started in 2017, Apple's $1.3 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa, has finally opened — at least partially.
Technically, Apple has had data centers that took longer to build, but only because protests ultimately led to the abandonment of one in Athenry, Ireland. In the case of Waukee in Dallas County, Iowa, Tim Cook himself gave a speech about it in 2017, saying he hoped Apple would help the local community.
Nothing seemed to happen for five years, until 2022, when Iowa officials reportedly reconsidered Apple’s plans. Then in August 2024, Apple applied to the city for permission to reclaim part of the land it had purchased, intending to create a wetlands restoration area around the data center.
Now, according to the Des Moines Register, Apple’s Waukee One data center building is up and running, serving North American users with iMessage, Apple Music, iCloud, and the App Store.
The single building sits on 2,000 acres at the intersection of Hickman Road and S Avenue. Under the deal with the city, Waukee gets $500,000 a year for the building, and has made $1.5 million from that one building so far.
At various times, Apple has been said to be planning either two data centers or as many as seven. Each would require separate approval from the city, and Apple has not yet applied for further approval.
Waukee reportedly offered Apple about $214 million in local and state incentives back in 2017. Apple then committed $100 million to a community fund to help with infrastructure and community development.
“We’re the largest taxpayer in the United States. Not a little bit, a lot,” Tim Cook said in 2017. “But I hope we bring in more than just tax revenue, which is important, but I hope we bring something to the community that helps on a larger scale.”
In addition to the community fund, Apple also committed $4 million to the development of Triumph Park, a 66-acre recreational area that was completed in June 2023.
City spokeswoman Heather Behrens says Apple's community fund includes $150,000 a year for public art. Apple has also reportedly said it will contribute $350,000 a year to a debt repayment program, but that depends on whether residents approve the plans in the Nov. 5 election.
While it's unclear why Apple's Iowa data center took so long to build, it may be because Apple Intelligence benefits from the servers in such centers.
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