QTS data center campus at Big Cedar Industrial Center (Cedar Rapids)
QTS is building a large data center campus on 612 acres in southwest Cedar Rapids. QTS calls it a $10 billion project, the biggest in the city's history. The city deal allows up to seven buildings.
Where things stand: First three buildings were topped out in October 2025. The city allows up to seven phases.
🕒 Latest update (Dec 2, 2025): City Council unanimously approved changes to the deal: up to seven phases, each at least a 300,000 sq ft building.
What we know
- 📍 WhereBig Cedar Industrial Center, southwest Cedar Rapids, near The Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids, Linn County
- 🏢 CompanyQTS Data Centers
- 🌳 Size612 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromAlliant Energy
- ❄️ Coolingwater-free cooling system (company says)
- 💵 Cost$10 billion
- 💸 Tax breaksCity deal includes a 20-year, 75% rebate of Alliant franchise fees and rebates of 70% of new property tax (tax increment financing). QTS pays $300,000 per phase into a community fund.
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- How much electricity will the full campus use? Reports range from about 1,000 MW to more. 🙋 I'll find out
- How much water will the campus use per day once all buildings run? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- Jan 2025Cedar Rapids approved the QTS development deal for Big Cedar Industrial Park.
- Oct 21, 2025Officials held a 'topping out' ceremony for the first three buildings.
- Dec 2, 2025City Council unanimously approved changes to the deal: up to seven phases, each at least a 300,000 sq ft building.
Local votes and rules
🤝 Agreement with the company
Cedar Rapids's council unanimously changed its deal with QTS: up to seven phases, each with a building of at least 300,000 square feet and about $250 million. QTS pays $300,000 per phase into a community fund.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gets Approval for Two Major Data Center Investments by Google and QTS · Data Center Frontier
- Officials hold topping out ceremony for $10 billion Cedar Rapids data center campus · KCRG · Oct 22, 2025
- Cedar Rapids approves changes to $1.75 billion data center complex agreement · CBS2 Iowa · Dec 2, 2025
- Iowa communities grapple with regulating data centers as development spreads · Business Record · Sept 11, 2026
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