The parent company of Facebook has struck a tentative deal with Lebanon that could eventually mean an investment of up to $4.8 billion on a massive parcel in the LEAP Lebanon Research and Innovation District, the city’s mayor told IBJ.
Meta Platforms Inc., which also owns Instagram and What’s App, has committed to an initial $800 million investment as the first phase of what could be a six-phase development over the next decade or longer, said Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry.
The project is expected to largely focus on data center operations and occupy a 1,500-acre site in the southern portion of LEAP, along State Road 32 just east of County Road 450 West.
IBJ was the first to report Monday evening that the Lebanon City Council had approved incentives to woo the technology conglomerate to the advanced manufacturing and research development park. The incentives include a new tax-increment-financing district, pre-allocation of water resources from Lebanon Utilities and a performance-based economic development agreement.
Gentry said Meta was “not totally comfortable” with the city releasing its name Monday as the council considered the incentive package. But the mayor said he pushed the company to let the city reveal its identity, telling leaders there that “this is a really important thing and, frankly, trying to approve an investment like this with an unknown company isn’t something my community is comfortable with.”
“Obviously, from a city standpoint, we’re very excited for the investment,” he added. “We’re excited what it means for Lebanon.”
The deal includes a 10-year, 50% real property tax abatement and a 35-year complete abatement of the personal property taxes Meta would otherwise owe. The first phase of the project—primarily the installation and operation of data equipment—could employ up to 50 people.
Meta has committed to a $1.5 million annual community impact payment for the city for each completed phase of the project. Those payments are expected to be put toward quality-of-life and placemaking initiatives.
The city expects to collect about $114.6 million in property taxes and community impact payments over the next 15 years for the first phase of the project, Gentry said. The full dollar value of the company’s incentives was not immediately available.
“I am excited Meta is considering the LEAP Research & Innovation District for expansion, and we look forward to working with them as they explore a potential project,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement through a spokesperson.
The agreement for Meta to establish operations in Lebanon was largely contingent on the adoption of the incentives package by local officials, though Gentry acknowledged that additional hurdles remain in the process.
He said Meta plans to finish acquiring land from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. by the end of this year.
The firm joins Eli Lilly and Co. as the only companies to make public commitments to the LEAP District since the state launched the economic development campus in mid-2022.
The state is not expected to provide any specific incentives for the deal, Gentry said, but state officials played a significant role in securing the project. Work has been underway on the deal for more than two years, he said.
Lilly, meanwhile, has signed multiple development agreements for LEAP that together total $13.5 billion and are expected to span 800 acres across two separate sites in the district. The projects include manufacturing facilities and a first-of-its-kind medicine foundry that could yield more than 1,300 high-wage jobs by 2030.
Indiana Commerce Secretary David Rosenberg told IBJ in October that an undisclosed company was expected to make an announcement later this year about plans for a multibillion-dollar project on a 1,500-acre site west of Interstate 65 in the LEAP District. Gentry said Meta is the project to which Rosenberg was referring.
As part of its deal with the city and Lebanon Utilities, Meta is expected to receive an allotment of 500,000 gallons of water per day for the first phase of its project, with additional allocations for future development on the site.
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