TEMPLE, Texas — Construction of Meta's $800 million Hyperscale Data Center in Temple has been put on hold, according to a company spokesperson. In a statement to 6 News, Melanie Roe wrote:
"In order to best serve our needs for the future, we have decided to change the design of our data center in Temple which will result in a temporary construction pause while we update our plans. We remain committed to this community, our local stakeholders, and our supply chain partners. We will work closely with our stakeholders to transition this project design as efficiently as possible."
When asked, Roe declined to comment on how many jobs were affected by Thursday's announcement, how long the delay of construction will last or if affected workers would be re-hired once construction resumes.
Temple's Economic Development Corporation also declined to provide further details about the announcement.
The City of Temple offered Meta a 75 percent property tax break for the first ten years as part of the deal, but City Manager Brynn Myers told 6 News they are still projected to get just under $7 million a year in property taxes. Myers said other taxing entities like Bell County, Temple ISD and Temple College also get tax revenue.
There are other benefits to the City of Temple as well. Myers said Meta has already made an $8 million dollar contribution to the city for water and wastewater system improvements. This money will help the city serve Meta’s datacenter but Myers said it will also improve services across the rest of the city and should improve water pressure to the rest of the city.