A Maryland-based developer of data center facilities has acquired over 300 acres of farmland in northeast Van Meter on land that was recently designated for industrial business park use.

COPT Defense Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Columbia, Md., doing business as IA 340 Trail LLC, paid $24.6 million for the land, Dallas County real estate records show.

Company officials, who did not respond to several requests for comment, have asked Van Meter officials about the availability of water and electricity and infrastructure improvements planned in the area, Liz Faust, Van Meter’s city administrator, said.

Faust, who along with others signed a non-disclosure agreement, said the parcels purchased by COPT were rezoned “specifically to attract a data center. … It’s safe to say [the proposed development] is a data center project.”

If the proposed development moves forward, it would be the second data center project in Van Meter. In January, technology giant Microsoft Corp. acquired nearly 400 acres in Van Meter’s Vision Park, an industrial business park located south of 360th Street. Microsoft officials have indicated they want to start construction on the project soon, Faust said.

Faust declined to confirm that COPT Defense Properties is the company behind the limited liability company that purchased the property. However, she did say that the entity that bought the land “is not the end user.”

COPT is a provider of real estate services to the federal government and defenses and information technology, or IT contractors, according to its website. The company is “focused on hyperscale and U.S. government customers.” COPT’s website boasts of “expedited delivery” of data center shells with development occurring within 12 to 15 months of land acquisitions.

COPT owns and operates about 6.3 million square feet of space in over 30 data centers, most of which are located in northern Virginia, according to its website.

The company’s defense/IT portfolio includes data center shell properties that are leased to tenants, according to its 2023 annual report. “We provided tenants with only the core building and basic power, while the tenants fund the costs for the critical power, fiber connectivity and data center infrastructure.” The structures are delivered to customers “within very condensed timeframes.”

In the annual report, COPT wrote that the company’s ability to develop future data center shells is limited without the acquisition of additional land. COPT has developed 30 data center shells in northern Virginia since 2013 for an unnamed Fortune 100 company and, as of December 2023, had three other data center shells under development for the same tenant, the report said.

As of December, the company did not own additional land in northern Virginia for future data center shell development, the report said. “If we are unable to locate additional data center shell development opportunities, we may no longer be able to develop data center shells.”

The company’s need for land on which to develop data center shells could explain its move into Iowa.

The city of Van Meter will likely need to expand its water system to accommodate the data center campus, Faust said. “They indicated they aren’t a high user of water; more of a moderate or middle type of user.”

COPT officials discussed that their tenant would be a “heavy power user” and that multiple buildings are planned on the campus, Faust said. She said the development could be a size that is similar to what Microsoft is planning.

A development timeline hasn’t yet been discussed with COPT officials, Faust said. But, she added, “I feel like everything has been moving really quickly with these guys.”

Development moving forward on Microsoft project in Van Meter

Microsoft Corp. could begin construction of a data center campus planned in Van Meter in December or early 2025, the Dallas County community’s city administrator said.

In January, the Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant acquired 377 acres of farmland in Van Meter’s Vision Park, an industrial business park located south of 360th Street in the southeast section of the community.

Microsoft plans to build at least 10 data centers in the park. The data centers each would be about 227,000 square feet, Faust said.

Infrastructure improvements, including construction of streets and installation of sewers and water lines, are estimated to cost $30 million. Microsoft will recoup the cost of the improvements through payments from tax increment finance funds, Faust said.

City officials are working on a development agreement with Microsoft, Faust said. The agreement could go before the Van Meter City Council in November.

In September, the council approved an agreement with Veenstra & Kimm Inc. to perform services related to the Microsoft project. Among the services the West Des Moines-based firm is providing are preliminary surveys and base drawings for “critical road projects” including F90 from Ute Avenue to Tabor Road; Tabor Road between F90 and 365th Street; and 365th Street from Tabor to one-fourth of a mile west of Seneca Avenue. The work is expected to be completed this fall.

Veenstra & Kimm will be paid up to $45,000 for the work, according to the agreement.