US Signal, a national digital infrastructure provider, is expanding its data center in Waukee, adding over 33,000 square feet of space to meet demand for more high-performance computing.

US Signal is building an addition to its existing 19,453-square-foot data center at 590 NE Alice’s Road in Waukee. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company was issued a building permit in February that valued the project at $29.8 million, a Business Record review of permits shows.

The addition includes a 2,145-square-foot office on the east side of the building and a 31,377-square-foot warehouse on the west side, according to city documents.

The company’s existing data center was built in 2009 on 5 acres. The addition will “add significant capacity and advanced cooling capabilities, helping our customers power the next generation of workloads, from [artificial intelligence] to mission-critical enterprise applications,” Nate Ohrt, data center manager, wrote in a blog post. The addition will allow for long-term growth while minimizing energy use, Ohrt wrote.

The addition includes a 2,145-square-foot office on the east side of the building and a 31,377-square-foot warehouse on the west side, according to city documents. Also 35 parking spaces will be added, increasing the number of spaces to 65. A 6-foot-tall ornamental fence with a gate entrance will be installed around the perimeter of the property.

The Waukee Planning and Zoning Commission approved the project’s site plan in November; the city council approved it in January.

Also in February, a permit was issued to remodel 30,000 square feet of space on the second floor of the Federal Home Loan Bank Building at 909 Locust St. in downtown Des Moines. OpenLoop Health Inc., a staffing, software and technology company that provides services to the telehealth industry, has outgrown space in a 14-story downtown office building and is relocating its headquarters to the Federal Home Loan Building, a spokesperson said.

In 2020, the company moved into the building at 317 Sixth Ave. Three years later, more than $2.5 million in tenant improvements were made to the office building to accommodate the growing company, which occupies the majority of the building, now known as OpenLoop Tower.

In the past two years, OpenLoop Health’s workforce has grown more than 900%, a spokesperson said. The growth has been “driven by strong demand for our telehealth infrastructure and expanding partnerships across the country.”

Building plans submitted to the city of Des Moines indicate several improvements will made to the second floor of the Federal Home Loan Bank Building including an office for OpenLoop Health’s CEO. Other improvements include a reception area, kitchen and addition of lounge and bar, building plans show. The second floor will also include several small collaboration offices and open space office areas.

The building permit placed the value of the remodeling project at over $3.9 million.

In February, four building permits were issued for new projects in Polk County and 13 area communities, a review shows. The permits estimated the value of the new projects at over $5.1 million.