The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board today approved the city of Cedar Rapids providing $56 million in local property tax exemptions over 20 years for Google Inc.’s proposed data center project in Cedar Rapids.

The project will be a $576 million capital investment, which is the largest investment from an economic development project in Cedar Rapids’ history and among the largest in the state, according to IEDA documents.

With a unanimous vote, the board allowed Cedar Rapids to access the state’s High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program and authorize its local tax abatement provisions. The city of Cedar Rapids had already approved the incentives on its end, pending the board’s decision today, according to IEDA officials at the meeting.

The project could contain one or more data centers along 76th Avenue SW and Edgewood Road SW in the Big Cedar Industrial Park to power Google’s internet-related products, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports.

The project would create 31 full-time jobs, paying a qualifying wage of $31.44 per hour by the end of the project’s performance period in 2031. Under the deal with the city of Cedar Rapids, the 20-year, 70% tax break is contingent on Google meeting employment thresholds, according to the Gazette.

The timeline included in IEDA’s project report has construction slated to start in the second quarter of 2024 with hiring starting in 2025. The data center is expected to be fully operational in 2026, according to the timeline.

The IEDA board also approved awards to three other established companies, as well as funding from Iowa’s State Small Business Credit Initiative innovation fund to four Iowa startups.

• Danisco Inc., a subsidiary of International Flavors & Fragrances, plans to construct a new facility in Cedar Rapids for a steam generation plant, which will use natural gas as fuel. The board awarded the $17.5 million capital investment project tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program. The project is expected to create at least two jobs incented at a qualifying wage of $31.44 per hour.
• Weiler, a family-owned business that manufactures equipment for the asphalt paving market, plans to build a 16,100-square-foot expansion to its facility in Knoxville and invest in additional machinery and equipment, increasing its capacity to produce parts in-house. The project represents a $16.8 million capital investment and is expected to create 171 jobs, of which 89 are incented at a qualifying wage of $25.86 per hour. The board awarded the company a $400,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program.
• Iowa-based CO2 Refrigeration Systems, a manufacturer of natural refrigeration systems, plans to establish its U.S. manufacturing presence with the purchase of an existing 34,000-square-foot facility in Marshalltown, which represents a $1.5 million capital investment. The board awarded the project a $100,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program. It is expected to create 48 jobs, incented at a qualifying wage of $22.17 per hour.

The startups that received State Small Business Credit Initiative funding are:

• Cellular Engineering Technologies in Coralville was awarded a $250,000 Innovation Acceleration Launch Fund award for key personnel and equipment. It is a biotech company developing optimized reagents and human cell lines for next-generation cell-based therapies.
• Nora Springs-based ReEnvision Ag was awarded a $175,000 Demonstration Fund loan for IP development and evaluation, proof of concept work, market planning and entry activities, key personnel and equipment. The company created a planter row system for farmers with SeedSpike technology that injects seeds with low soil disturbance to optimize soil health and maximize soil carbon sequestration.  
• PigEasy, a family-owned company in Templeton, was awarded a $175,000 Demonstration Fund loan for product refinement, key personnel and market planning and entry activities.
  PigEasy develops products that simplify daily tasks on the farm to improve productivity and efficiency and reduce costs.
• MakuSafe Corp., based in West Des Moines, was awarded a $500,000 Innovation Acceleration Propel Fund loan for market and competitive analysis, product refinement, key personnel and marketing planning and entry activities. The company uses a proprietary wearable technology to gather real-time data with the goal of improving worker health, safety and productivity while reducing worker compensation claims and mitigating workplace risks.

— Associate Editor Mike Mendenhall contributed to this reporting.