Farmington Technology Park
The Farmington Technology Park will host digital infrastructure for technology companies, while helping to advance the City’s 2040+ Comprehensive Plan and improve local quality of life. The project will bring new jobs, tax revenue, and infrastructure improvements to the community. It will also provide funding to upgrade the power grid with new renewable power sources, while using less water than a new residential development.
Project Benefits
The Technology Park is supported by local elected officials and our local utility companies because it represents a significant private investment in Farmington, including:
- 275+ permanent, high-quality skilled jobs, with union support
- Expected future stabilization in home property taxes, due to $18M in new funding for public schools
- Significant new funding for public safety, infrastructure, parks, and more
- 11.50 acres dedicated back to the City for future improvements including a public water tower
Job Creation
The Technology Park will generate approximately 275 new, high-quality jobs, which can all be filled by Farmington area residents.
- Construction will require a variety of specialized trades including electricians, network engineers, utility contractors, plumbers, steel workers, and myriad other civil trades. Most of these positions can be filled by local and regional workers, including residents of the Farmington area and Castle Rock.
- Once built, ongoing, permanent, skilled labor will be needed including security, IT technicians, HVAC technicians, electricians, engineers, and more. Many of these are high-salary (averaging around $120,000 annually), skilled jobs — long-term, year-round positions in a growing sector.
- There will be other ancillary jobs related to the ongoing maintenance of the facility, such as landscaping, painting, repair, etc.
Property Tax and Real Estate Value Stability
Significantly increasing local commercial tax bases
- This project will add a large new source of commercial tax base in the City of Farmington, Dakota County, and the Farmington School District, while placing relatively low demands on municipal services, meaning substantial new revenue with minimal added cost.
- If nothing else changes and the campus is built out over the next 10 years, the additional tax base is expected to stabilize or even reduce overall city property taxes, instead of allowing them to rise — potentially by thousands of dollars for the average household — without this investment.
Supporting lower property taxes, increased home values, and additional local revenue
- Property taxes pay for the things that often positively impact property values, like increased investments in schools, parks, infrastructure, and recreation.
- A project like the Farmington Technology Park helps shift more of that cost onto a high-value commercial taxpayer and away from homeowners — while sustaining and improving the schools, safety, and amenities buyers look for when they decide what a home is worth.
- Broad evidence also shows that data centers do not impact home values negatively. In fact, homes farther from data centers tended to sell for less, not more.
- A nationwide review of ZIP codes with large data center campuses found about two-thirds kept up with or beat their state’s 5-year home-price appreciation, with only 1 of 130 ZIP codes showing negative growth.
- For full details on the data, and data analysis, read the white paper, “Data Centers and Residential Property Values.”
The bottom line
- More revenue to fund schools and services that support higher home values
- No systemic evidence that data centers depress nearby home values
Additional Resources for the School District
- With the future purchase of the Farmington Public Schools property, $18 million in additional funding will be paid to the school district, amounting to roughly $3,000 per student.
- The Technology Park is anticipated to generate $75 million in additional tax revenue for the school district over a period of 20 years.
Local Tax Generation
Development requires significant capital investment from the private sector for buildings and infrastructure, construction, equipment, and ongoing operational expenses. With this level of investment, millions of dollars from tax revenue will be generated each year that can support public safety, infrastructure upgrades, parks improvements, schools, and more.
Project Information
Project Status
The Farmington Technology Park has received all its major planning and entitlement approvals, and is moving into the site-preparation phase.
Previous Approvals:
- The Final AUAR for the Technology Park was adopted by City Council on November 4, 2024
- The Preliminary Plat, Rezoning application to Mixed Use Commercial/Industrial (MUCI), and 2040 Comprehensive Plan amendment was approved by City Council on November 4, 2024
- The Final Plat and Planned Unit Development (PUD) was approved and adopted by City Council on November 18, 2024
- The Development Agreement with the City of Farmington was approved by City Council on December 2, 2024
- Met Council approved the Comprehensive Plan Amendment on May 14, 2025
A detailed timeline of the project’s previous approvals can be found on the City’s website here.
