Meta is donating $600,000 to help Lake Mountain School District buy three acres for a future K-6 elementary school, becoming the first private business to fund the permanent foundation of a district campus — according to city officials. The company is also giving $450,000 toward Eagle Mountain’s Walden Park Observatory, bringing its total commitment to that project to $700,000.
Eagle Mountain City and Meta announced the donations at an event last week alongside confirmation that Meta is again expanding its Eagle Mountain Data Center, a move that pushes the company’s total capital investment in Utah to more than $3 billion. The expansion is projected to support roughly 1,200 construction jobs at peak and more than 300 permanent operational roles once complete, with most positions expected to go to workers from Utah County and surrounding communities, according to KUTV.
“This is a company that showed up here eight years ago and has kept its commitments to us since,” says Jared Gray, mayor of Eagle Mountain. “Meta’s presence has meant real money for our schools, real improvements to our roads and water systems, and good jobs for people who live here.”
Land grant addresses a growth bottleneck
The two new gifts fall under Meta’s Future Is for Everyone Fund, a national $1 billion commitment CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled in August to direct money toward schools, first responders and infrastructure in communities that host Meta data centers. Eagle Mountain’s grant lands as the city works to secure school sites ahead of demand — the district’s most pressing challenge as the population has grown from 43,623 in the 2020 Census to an estimated 66,557 residents in 2025.
Meta is also committing $1.5 million to the Lake Mountain Education Foundation plus an ongoing $50,000 annual contribution for student-learning initiatives, including early childhood literacy.
“The $600,000 land grant helps us plan responsibly for the tremendous growth in our community, while the $1.5 million commitment to the Lake Mountain Education Foundation will help us invest directly in students,” says Julie King, president of the Lake Mountain School District Board of Education.
Data centers keep clustering in Eagle Mountain
Meta broke ground on its Eagle Mountain campus in 2018 and began operations in 2021, with prior expansions in 2019, 2021 and 2022 pushing its investment there to $1.5 billion before this latest phase. The company projects the site will become one of Eagle Mountain’s largest property taxpayers, funding schools, public safety and city services.
Meta isn’t building alone in the city: Tract acquired 668 acres in Eagle Mountain in 2024 for future data center campuses, joining QTS and Google in staking claims there, drawn by Utah’s data-center sales tax exemption and available power.
That power need is also driving new energy investments nearby. Lydian Energy’s Faraday battery storage facility, a 150-megawatt, 733-megawatt-hour project backed by a long-term power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp, will support the regional grid serving the Eagle Mountain Data Center and come online later this year. Meta also points to three water restoration projects — including the Provo River and Hobble Creek flow restorations and a Cory Wride Memorial Park irrigation partnership — that have returned more than 726 million gallons to the local watershed.
“Eagle Mountain is one of the fastest-growing communities in Utah, and Meta has been a partner here for more than eight years,” says Utah state Rep. Stephanie Gricius, of the district’s school land deal. The company’s next construction milestones, and whether other data center operators in the city follow its community-investment model, will be worth watching as Eagle Mountain’s growth continues.
This article was adapted from a press release by an automated tool and reviewed and edited by an editor for accuracy before publication.
