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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Facebook’s June 4, 2015 announcement was for a third data-center building at its existing Altoona, Iowa, campus—not a third Iowa campus. The company expected construction to begin in summer 2015 and projected that all three Altoona buildings would be online in late 2016. Those dates were forecasts made in 2015, not a current construction schedule.
What Facebook announced in June 2015
The report, published by Data Center Knowledge on June 4, 2015, described Facebook’s plan to add a third building at the Altoona data-center campus. At that point, the first Altoona building was operating and the second was under construction. Facebook had not finalized the third building’s size or design.
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The company said work was expected to start in summer 2015, with the three buildings anticipated to come online in late 2016. Because these were projections in the 2015 announcement, they should not be read as a verified present-day schedule or as proof that every milestone occurred exactly as forecast.
Why Facebook chose Altoona
An unnamed Facebook spokeswoman attributed the site decision to a combination of development, infrastructure and workforce factors:
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- A shovel-ready site that could support construction quickly.
- Access to fiber-optic connectivity and electric power.
- A strong pool of construction and data-center operations workers.
- Access to wind-generated electricity.
- Support from local officials.
The 2015 report also said Facebook had entered a long-term power-purchase agreement for about 140 megawatts with a nearby Wellsburg wind farm. That figure and the explanation for selecting Altoona are statements reported at the time; they are not independently verified current terms for the campus.
How the 2015 plan fits Altoona’s later growth
Later company announcements describe a much larger Altoona footprint than the single third-building project covered in 2015. The scope and date of each figure matter:
| Reference point | What it describes | Figure or status |
|---|---|---|
| June 2015 report | The proposed third building at the existing campus | Construction expected in summer 2015; all three buildings projected online in late 2016; size and design not yet finalized |
| Meta U.S. locations page, accessed 2026 | The Altoona campus as a whole | More than $2.5 billion in Iowa investment; 2013 groundbreaking; more than 400 operational jobs supported once completed |
| Meta expansion announcement, December 2021 | A later two-building Altoona expansion | Campus projected to exceed five million square feet and become Meta’s largest operational data center when completed; more than 400 people reported in on-site data-center operations |
The campus-wide investment and employment numbers should not be assigned solely to the third building announced in 2015. Likewise, the five-million-square-foot projection belongs to the later two-building expansion, not to the 2015 addition by itself.
Renewable power and the Altoona campus
The 2015 account connected Altoona’s appeal partly to wind-power access and reported the approximately 140-MW Wellsburg agreement. In its December 2021 expansion announcement, Meta said Altoona would continue to be supported by 100% renewable wind energy. The latter is a company statement about the expanded campus and should not be treated as an independently audited description of every historical power contract.
What “third data center in Iowa” gets wrong
“Third data center” can imply that Facebook was opening its third separate Iowa campus. The more precise reading is “third data-center building at Altoona.” The first and second buildings were part of the same campus, and the 2015 story did not establish a separate location elsewhere in Iowa.
What is and is not established today
The historical announcement establishes Facebook’s 2015 plan, its stated reasons for choosing Altoona and the reported power-purchase figure. Meta’s later materials establish that Altoona continued to expand and that the company reported billions of dollars of campus investment, hundreds of operational jobs and continued wind-energy support. The available announcements do not, by themselves, verify the present status of each individual building or independently confirm every 2015 projection.
Quick Recap
Key dates at a glance
- 2013: Meta’s current U.S. locations page lists this as the Altoona campus groundbreaking year.
- June 4, 2015: Facebook’s third-building plan was reported; the first building was live and the second was under construction.
- Summer 2015: The company expected construction of the third building to begin.
- Late 2016: Facebook projected that all three Altoona buildings would be online.
- December 2021: Meta announced another two-building expansion and projected a campus exceeding five million square feet when completed.
- 2026 listing: Meta’s current locations page reports more than $2.5 billion invested in Iowa and more than 400 operational jobs supported once completed.
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