Really big is getting a lot bigger in far north Fort Worth, as Facebook has announced that it will triple the size of its massive data center complex under construction there.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Facebook now will build five buildings totally roughly 2.5 million square feet of space, instead of three buildings totaling 750,000 square feet as the social media giant originally planned.

Facebook’s investment in Fort Worth could surpass $1 billion, the company has said.

“This expansion comes as more people around the world use Facebook apps and services every day, and as video becomes even more central to the way people connect and share with each other,” KC Timmons, site manager for the Fort Worth data center, said. “ With this expansion, our Fort Worth data center will play an even more important role in making that possible. We’re now starting to roll racks of servers into the first building, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the fast pace of the teams working on this project.”

“This is what we hoped for when did the deal and they have been great to work with.”
Robert Sturns

A year ago, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook announced that it had bought an additional 39 acres adjacent its 110-acre site at Texas 170 and Park Vista Boulevard in the Alliance development, the Star-Telegram said.

The city of Fort Worth is excited by Facebook’s expansion plans.

“This is what we hoped for when did the deal and they have been great to work with,” Robert Sturns, the city’s economic development director, told the newspaper. “We are excited not only about the overall impact to the economy, but what this could mean as we look to attract similar operations to Fort Worth.”

Construction on the giant facility started in July 2015, with construction on the second building underway. It should be up and running in December 2017.

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