A source close to the $1 billion data center development at the Little Rock Port confirmed to Arkansas Business Wednesday night that Google is the entity behind the project.
Plans for the data center were first revealed in April when the Little Rock Board of Directors approved a resolution related to the development. But the developer of the 300,000-SF computing facility was not made public. The company has been represented by Willowbend Capital LLC, an entity led by Michael Montfort, who has not disclosed Google’s involvement.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported that Google is behind the project on Wednesday night.
The tech giant is also developing a data center on more than 1,000 acres in West Memphis. Google is investing $4 billion in the project and launching a $25 million fund to help scale energy efficiency and affordability initiatives for residents in Crittenden County.
A separate data center in the Little Rock area is being developed by Avaio Digital of Stamford, Connecticut. The company last week revealed that it’s building a $6 billion campus on 760 acres at Interstate 530 and 145th Street in south Pulaski County. It would be the largest economic development project in Arkansas history. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year.
Other data centers have been announced in Conway and Clarksville but the developer behind those projects has not been disclosed.
Entergy Arkansas is slated to provide power to the data centers in West Memphis, Conway, the Little Rock Port and south Pulaski County.
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