Google plans to double size of Council Bluffs data center expansion

Google Inc. plans to increase the size of its data center expansion in Council Bluffs, investing an additional $400 million in the  facility.

With the new Southlands expansion, the Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's investment in its Iowa facilities totals more than $1.5 billion. The data center, originally slated for a $200 million expansion, houses computer systems and associated components that support services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps and GooglePlus.

Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Google was a pioneer for high tech development in the state.

"The company's first investment of $600 million was followed by investments of $300 million, $200 million and now an additional $400 million," Reynolds said. "Google has not only invested heavily in Iowa, they've helped to create an atmosphere of high tech development that is the envy of the Midwest."

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board on Tuesday amended the state's original agreement with Google to increase sales and use tax credit benefits from $9.6 million to $16.8 million. The expanded data center will create 35 additional jobs.

"As demand for our services grows, our operations need to grow as well," Chris Russell, Google data center operations manager, said. "We're excited to be an integral part of Iowa's expansion into next generation technology."

Google's expansion announcement came on the same day that Facebook Inc. confirmed plans for the $299.5 initial phase of a $1 billion data center in Altoona.