Apple's $1.3 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa, from 2017, is finally open -- at least partially. Technically, Apple had data centers that took longer, but that was only because the protests ultimately led to the abandonment of the data center in Athenry, Ireland. Regarding the situation in Waukee, Dallas County, Iowa, Apple CEO Tim Cook himself gave a speech on this in 2017, expressing his hope to help the local community.

Nothing seemed to happen for the next five years, until 2022, when Iowa authorities reportedly reviewed Apple's plans. Then, in August 2024, Apple applied to the city for permission to remediate part of the land it purchased, with the goal of creating a wetland restoration area around the data center.

Now, according to DesMoinesRegister, Apple’s Waukee One data center building has been put into operation. It provides iMessage, AppleMusic, iCloud and AppStore services to North American users.

The building sits on 2,000 acres at the intersection of Hickman Road and Avenue S. Under the terms of the agreement with the city, Waukee will receive $500,000 per year from each building and has so far received $1.5 million from this building.

It is said that Apple has repeatedly planned to build two data centers, or even as many as seven. Each data center requires separate approval from the city, and Apple has not yet applied for further permits.

Back in 2017, the city of Waukee reportedly awarded Apple approximately $214 million in local and state incentives. Apple subsequently committed $100 million to a public fund to help with infrastructure and community development.

"We are the largest taxpayer in the United States. Not a little bit, a lot." Tim Cook said in 2017. "But what I hope is that we bring more than just tax revenue, which is important, but I hope we bring some broader help to society."

In addition to public funds, Apple has committed $4 million to develop Triumph Park. Triumph Park covers an area of ​​66 acres and will be completed in June 2023.

City spokesperson Heather Behrens said Apple's public funds include $150,000 in annual public art funding. Apple also reportedly said it would contribute $350,000 a year toward a debt repayment plan, but that would depend on residents approving the plan in the Nov. 5 election.

While it's unclear why Apple's Iowa data center took so long to be built, it may be operational now because Apple Intelligence benefits from servers in such a center.