The Rosemount City Council approved the final site and building plan Thursday night for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to build its $700 million data center.

Jimnist LLC, a subsidiary of Meta, received unanimous approval to move forward with its data center at UMore Park, which is expected to bring in 1,000 construction jobs and support at least 50 on-site jobs.

The project, previously code named Project Bigfoot, met resistance from residents who expressed concerns about environmental impacts, a lack of transparency and Meta as the end-user of the data center.

Councilmember Tami Klimpel said as a resident of the area, she also had concerns, but “every one of those is addressed in the proposal ahead of us today and then some,” she said Thursday.

Having done her due diligence, including reaching out to towns like Altoona, Iowa, to learn about how a Meta data center impacted their community, Klimpel said she is proud to support the project.

The sale of the 280-acre parcel at UMore Park was approved by the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents in September and is expected to close next month.

Funds from the nearly $40 million sale will go to the UMore Park Legacy Fund, which is used to fund special education and outreach projects.

In addition to the closing of the land sale, next steps include finalizing the plans for the building permits.

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