Sue Data Centers

Data Center Registry

COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site

Van Meter, Dallas County, Iowa

ProposedNo reception on recordRecord updated September 10, 2026

COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site is a proposed data center in Van Meter, Iowa (Dallas County), operated by COPT Defense Properties. The public record puts it at announced September 2024, 1 GW planned, 365 acres, a reported $32 million investment.

Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.

Facility record

Proposed

Operator
COPT Defense Properties
Facility type
Data center
Location
Van Meter, Dallas County, IA
Coordinates
41.5031, -93.9469 (approximate)
Power capacity
1 GW planned
Land
365 acres
Investment
$32 million
Announced
September 2024
Utility
Not established from a public source
Cooling
Not established from a public source
Water use
Not established from a public source
Jobs
Not established from a public source
Public subsidy
Not established from a public source
Community reception
No reception on record
Source confidence
Reported by at least one credible outlet or filing

Opposition and litigation at this site

Nothing on record as of September 10, 2026. No lawsuit, organized opposition, or contested hearing over COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site in Van Meter, Dallas County, Iowa appears in the sources this registry tracks. That is an absence in our sources rather than a finding that none exists, and local opposition often predates any coverage a national dataset would pick up.

If you live near this site and something is happening that this page does not show, that is worth telling us. Send us the document and it goes in the record with the source attached. For sites where opposition is already established, see every contested site we track.

Notes on the record

Speculative 'shell' land development (REIT-style developer building generic zoned/powered capacity for a future, not-yet-named tenant), same non-hyperscale-operator category as QTS's already-tracked Iowa campuses. Existing zoning already permits data-center use; site could support ~3.3M sq ft across up to 15 buildings and two substations per COPT's own release. Street address (28004 340th Trail) and 'Van Meter area' / 2027 planned-year framing came from a secondary aggregator (baxtel.com, fetched directly) corroborating the primary COPT press release, which itself doesn't name the town explicitly (says only 'near Des Moines'). Van Meter is in Dallas County, Iowa (general geography, not sourced to a specific citation). No construction start confirmed as of this research. Public-reception check (2026-09-10): COPT Defense's own acquisition press release (dated around late Sept, publicized 2026) covers only the transaction (365 acres, $32M) and describes the site as 'near Des Moines, Iowa' rather than naming Van Meter specifically. No public hearing, local-official statement, resident reaction, or opposition/support is documented in this source. Checked: operator press release only.

What the record does not establish, and the document that would

In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.

  • Cooling method and water use
  • Tax abatements or other public subsidy
  • Permanent jobs promised
  • How the community has received it
  • Which utility serves it
Which document closes each gap
Cooling method and water use
The water service agreement, any groundwater appropriation permit, and the mechanical narrative in the site plan.
Tax abatements or other public subsidy
The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
Permanent jobs promised
The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
How the community has received it
Planning commission and governing body minutes, public comment records, and any petition or lawsuit filed in the county.
Which utility serves it
The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.

Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

Questions people ask about this site

Is there opposition to the COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site in Van Meter?

Nothing on record as of September 10, 2026. No lawsuit, organized opposition, or contested hearing over COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site in Van Meter, Dallas County, Iowa appears in the sources this registry tracks. That is an absence in our sources rather than a finding that none exists, and local opposition often predates any coverage a national dataset would pick up.

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site?

No lawsuit over COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site appears in the record we track as of September 10, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.

How much water does COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site use?

No water withdrawal figure for COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site is on record here. Water use is rarely published voluntarily; it usually surfaces through a utility service agreement or a state withdrawal permit, both of which are public records. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.

Who operates COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site, and how big is it?

COPT Defense Properties is the operator on record. Capacity on record is 1 GW. The site is recorded at 365 acres.

How to cite this page

SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "COPT Defense Van Meter Data Center Shell Site," updated September 10, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/copt-defense-properties-van-meter-ia.

Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/copt-defense-properties-van-meter-ia, retrieved September 14, 2026.

Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this record

As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.

  1. 1.COPT Defense Acquires Land for Data Center Shell Development near Des Moines, IA · COPT Defense Properties (investor relations) · retrieved August 8, 2026
  2. 2.COPT: Des Moines Data Center · Baxtel · retrieved August 8, 2026

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