Culver to announce Microsoft picks West Des Moines site

Gov. Chet Culver will announce Thursday that Microsoft Corp. will build a data center in West Des Moines.

Culver has scheduled a "major economic development announcement" Thursday morning on the west steps of the Statehouse to announce Microsoft's plans, said an official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting Culver's announcement.

Microsoft was drawn to Iowa in part because of a series of tax breaks approved by the state Legislature, the official said Wednesday.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company announced plans earlier for a data center in central Iowa but had not disclosed the location.

Data centers house computer system and related equipment that provide services for businesses and individual customers.

Microsoft has a data center in Quincy, Wash., and is building others in San Antonio, Chicago and Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft said data center projects differ from one region to another, but the Texas center announced in January 2007 requires a $550 million corporate investment in a 400,000-square-foot building, according to a statement from the city of San Antonio.

Microsoft is creating 75 full-time jobs paying an average annual salary of up to $70,000 at that center.

To receive the Iowa tax breaks signed Feb. 28 by Culver, Microsoft must invest at least $200 million in the state.

Last year the state approved a measure that helped persuade Google to build a $600 million data center near Council Bluffs. That package exempted electricity purchases and capital investments from the state's sales tax.