Meta Davenport data center, Davenport, Iowa

Meta's planned data center on farmland in north Davenport, Scott County, Iowa, still had not broken ground by 2026, and neither Meta nor the city has said whether the project will go ahead. "Meta (Vemerald) purchased the land but has not announced any plans to build yet," Davenport's chief communications officer Denise Hnytka told the Quad-City Times; the company had said it would break ground in late 2025 if it went ahead.

Meta's subsidiary Vemerald LLC proposed two data halls and other buildings totaling 715,000 square feet on 328 acres near Hillandale Road and Enterprise Way, after paying $21 million for 355 acres across 10 parcels in 2024 and 2025. The Davenport City Council backed a property tax exemption in May 2024, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority board then granted a High Quality Jobs award for an $800 million investment and 35 jobs paying at least $28.76 an hour. The exemption covers 60 percent of property taxes for 20 years, which the Quad-City Times put at about $161 million; the city estimated the finished campus would still pay about $107 million in property taxes over 20 years to the city, Scott County and Davenport schools.

How much water and power the campus would use is not public. Iowa American Water declined to answer questions, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Meta, and MidAmerican Energy declined to give the expected electricity demand, citing state rules protecting customer information. MidAmerican said it does not expect the data center, if built, to increase customer rates, because large-load customers must cover the cost of the infrastructure that serves them.

The city and state incentives are already in place, so whether the campus gets built is now Meta's decision; Meta did not respond to the Quad-City Times' request for comment.