United Healthcare Plans $124M Facility

United Healthcare Services is planning to spend $124 million to build a 189,000 square foot data center in Elk River, Minnesota, according to local media reports. The company could get as much as $850,000 in property tax rebates from the city, a suburb of Minneapolis. United HealthCare hopes to begin construction in March and complete the project by September 2008.

The Elk River Economic Development Authority (EDA) has offered the company a property tax rebate of up to 5 percent of the assessed market value of the project with a $1 million cap as an incentive to come to Elk River. As part of the deal, within two years the company must create 20 new full-time positions at a minimum hourly wage of $24. The news story doesn't mention power issues, but Elk River has been dubbed Energy City for a program in which the city provides financial incentives for businesses that incorporate efficient and renewable energy technologies into their buildings.