Tax Revenue & Assessment | Woodbury Data Centers

Overview

Data centers generate property tax revenue based on building value (assessed by county assessor). Equipment (servers, chillers, generators) worth tens of millions is exempt from the property tax roll in Minnesota, reducing the tax base significantly.

Key Finding: Combined city tax contribution from both facilities is approximately $118,000/year—equivalent to 20–25 median Woodbury homes and 0.23% of the city's $52.1M total levy. Meanwhile, 500 Bielenberg's assessed value dropped 7% ($725K) during the 30 MW build-out year.

Assessed Values & Tax Capacity (2022–2027)

401 Bielenberg Drive (MSP 01)

Year	Total EMV	Change	Tax Capacity*	Annual Tax
2022	$4,947,000	—	$98,190	~$137,800
2023	$5,342,800	+$395,800	$106,106	~$149,000
2024	$6,679,800	+$1,337,000	$132,846	~$186,200
2025	$6,642,200	−$37,600	$132,094	~$185,000
2026	$6,642,200	$0	$132,094	~$185,874
2027 (prelim.)	$7,125,200	+$483,000	$141,754	~$191,764

* Tax capacity = EMV × state class rate. City's direct share (31.16% of tax capacity) is approximately $44,000/year.

500 Bielenberg Drive (MSP 02, Lot 4 only)

Year	Total EMV	Change	Tax Capacity*	Annual Tax
2022	$19,939,600	—	$398,042	~$559,000
2023	$18,160,500	−$1,779,100	$362,460	~$508,000
2024	$17,470,400	−$690,100	$348,658	~$488,000
2025	$12,321,900	−$5,148,500	$245,688	~$344,000
2026	$12,321,900	$0	$245,688	~$359,842
2027 (prelim.)	$11,597,100	−$724,800 (−5.9%)	$231,192	~$357,170

* Split occurred in 2025 when Main Event Bowling purchased Lot 2. 2027 figures are Lot 4 only (data center building).

Critical Finding: 500 Bielenberg's value dropped 7% ($725K) between 2025 and 2026 assessments—during the exact year Eden Ventures was marketing and building out 30 MW of data center capacity. Either the buildout did not happen, or the assessor did not see the data center in the building's value.

Combined City Tax Contribution

Annual City Tax Revenue (2026 Actual)

401 Bielenberg

$41,000

~23%

500 Bielenberg (Lot 4)

$77,000

~77%

Total: ~$118,000/year from both facilities
Equivalent to 20–25 median Woodbury homes (~$450K EMV each)

Context: City Levy Impact

Metric	Value
Woodbury total city levy (2025)	$52.1 million
Data center city tax contribution	~$118,000
Percentage of levy	0.23%
Equivalent number of median homes	20–25 homes

Finding: Both data center facilities combined contribute less than 1/4 of 1% of Woodbury's city tax levy. Their tax impact is minimal relative to utility draw, noise, and expansion risk.

Equipment Exemption: The Hidden Value

What's Exempt from Tax Roll

In Minnesota, servers, chillers, generators, and power systems (personal property) are exempt from property tax. Only the building shell counts.

Equipment Type	Estimated Value per MW	15 MW Facility	6 MW Facility
Servers & data hall hardware	$3–5M	$45–75M	$18–30M
Cooling system (chillers)	$500K–1M	$7.5–15M	$3–6M
Power systems (generators, UPS)	$500K–1M	$7.5–15M	$3–6M
Electrical & distribution	$200–500K	$3–7.5M	$1.2–3M
Total exempt equipment per facility		~$63–113M	~$25–45M

Full Buildout Scenario (66 MW + 34 MW)

If both facilities expand to full marketed capacity:

Facility	Capacity	Equipment Value (est.)	Tax Contribution if Built
401 Bielenberg	66 MW	~$200–330M	~$153,000/year (est.)
500 Bielenberg	34 MW	~$100–170M	~$80,000/year (est.)
Combined	100 MW	~$300–500M	~$233,000/year

Key Issue: $300–500M in servers and equipment would be exempt from tax roll. Only the $18M building shell would be taxed. This is why per-MW tax capacity is so low (~$12,400/MW).

Historical Comparison: The Hartford Era

The Hartford Insurance (2014): Before Data Centers

Metric	2014 (Hartford Era)	2027 (Data Center Proposed)	Change
Tax capacity (total campus)	$406,138	~$372,946	−$33,192 (−8.2%)
Rank (city taxpayers)	#8 (largest)	~#10 (proposed)	Dropped 2 spots
Employees on site	~400	~10 (data center ops only)	−390 jobs
Use type	Office / Insurance	Data center + Topgolf/Main Event	Transformed

Finding: The Hartford campus lost tax ranking from #8 to out of top 10 despite adding 21 MW of operational data center capacity. The Topgolf redevelopment (Lot 1) is now more valuable than the data center tower.

The 500 Bielenberg Assessment Anomaly

The Mystery: 500 Bielenberg's assessed value dropped 7% ($725K) between 2025 and 2026 assessments—the exact year Eden Ventures was marketing 30 MW of expansion capacity and commissioning equipment.

Possible Explanations

The buildout didn't happen: Marketing said 30 MW by 2026, but construction stalled. Value dropped because building remains mostly vacant.
Assessor missed the data center: Equipment (worth $100M+ at 30 MW) was installed but not captured in building value assessment. Assessor saw office building, not data center retrofit.
Met Council influence: City filed "mixed use office" determination with Met Council (Jan 2025) to avoid stormwater charges. Assessor may have used old "office" comps instead of data center value.
Equipment personal property: If data center equipment is properly classified as exempt personal property, building value alone should drop. But $725K drop is steep for office-to-data retrofit.

Significance: If the assessor is not capturing data center value, Woodbury is losing tax revenue. Conversely, if value correctly dropped because buildout stalled, the 30 MW expansion is not actually happening despite marketing claims.

Tax Court Petition Deadline

April 30, 2027: Operator has one year from 2026 assessment to petition Tax Court if they dispute the value. If no petition is filed, the 7% drop stands as assessor's final decision.

Action: Monitor Tax Court public docket (mn.gov/tax-court) after April 30, 2027 to see if operator challenges 2026 assessment. A petition would reveal whether the buildout is real or the value drop is justified.

Per-Megawatt Tax Analysis

Data centers are priced by capacity, not by property value. Industry standard: ~$12,400–15,000 per megawatt in annual tax.

Facility	Live Capacity	Annual Tax	Per-MW Tax
401 Bielenberg	15 MW	~$185,874	~$12,391/MW
500 Bielenberg (2026)	6 MW	~$359,842	~$59,974/MW
Combined Average	21 MW	~$545,716	~$25,987/MW

Note: 500's per-MW tax is high because the building value is spread across only 6 MW of current load. If the facility expands to 34 MW, per-MW tax drops dramatically to ~$10,577/MW. At 100 MW combined capacity, per-MW tax would drop to ~$5,457/MW.

Qualified Data Center Status & Tax Exemptions

Certification Status: Minnesota DEED Qualified Data Centers

Fact: IronGate 401 Bielenberg and IronGate 500 Bielenberg are both certified as qualified data centers by the State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), as of July 15, 2026.

What "Qualified" Means: A qualified data center is a facility that meets Minnesota's definition under Minn. Stat. § 272B (Property Tax Exemption for Data Center Equipment). This status unlocks equipment tax exemptions worth tens of millions of dollars for the operator.

Data Center	Location	Qualified Status	DEED Certification
IronGate 401	401 Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury	✓ YES	July 15, 2026
IronGate 500	500 Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury	✓ YES	July 15, 2026

Why It Matters: Qualified status enables the operator to claim permanent equipment exemptions under Minn. Stat. § 272B, reducing the taxable property base from $300–500M in equipment down to only the building shell (~$18M).

Equipment Exemptions Under Minn. Stat. § 272B

Minnesota law exempts data center equipment (servers, chillers, generators, power systems) from property tax. Only the building shell is taxed.

Component	Taxable Status	Estimated Value (100 MW)	Impact on Tax Base
Building shell & structure	TAXED	~$18M	Included in assessed value
Servers & data hall hardware	EXEMPT	~$300–400M	Removed from tax roll
Cooling systems (chillers, etc.)	EXEMPT	~$40–60M	Removed from tax roll
Power systems (generators, UPS, transformers)	EXEMPT	~$40–60M	Removed from tax roll
Electrical distribution & wiring	EXEMPT	~$20–30M	Removed from tax roll
Total Equipment Value (100 MW)	EXEMPT	~$400–550M	Never taxed

Exemption Window: 35 years (2026–2061). After 2061, exemptions expire and equipment becomes taxable (unless extended).

Actual Tax Contribution: Current & Projected

Given the equipment exemptions above, here is what the city actually receives in property tax:

Facility	Current MW	Annual City Tax	At Full Buildout (100 MW)
401 Bielenberg	15 MW	~$41,000/year	~$153,000/year (est.)
500 Bielenberg	6 MW	~$77,000/year	~$80,000/year (est.)
TOTAL (Current)	21 MW	~$118,000/year	—
TOTAL (Full Buildout Projected)	100 MW	—	~$233,000/year

Critical Insight: Despite $400–550M in equipment, Woodbury will collect only ~$118K/year now and ~$233K/year at full buildout. This is 0.23%–0.45% of the city's $52.1M levy.

Expansion Impact: The Paradox of Equipment Exemptions

As data center capacity expands, installed equipment value grows—but so do the equipment exemptions, offsetting any tax revenue gain.

Buildout Scenario	Capacity	Equipment Value (exempt)	Building Value (taxed)	Est. Annual City Tax	Per-MW Tax
Current state	21 MW	~$100–150M	~$18M	~$118,000	~$5,619/MW
50% buildout	50 MW	~$250–350M	~$18M	~$170,000	~$3,400/MW
Full buildout	100 MW	~$400–550M	~$18M	~$233,000	~$2,330/MW

Finding: Equipment exemptions worsen per-MW tax revenue as facilities grow. Each additional megawatt of capacity adds exempt equipment, reducing the effective tax contribution per MW. Full buildout yields only ~$2,330/MW in annual city tax—a 59% decrease from current per-MW rate.

The 500 Bielenberg Assessment Anomaly: A Red Flag

500 Bielenberg's assessed value dropped 7% ($725,000) between the 2025 and 2026 assessments—during the exact year Eden Ventures claimed to be building out 30 MW of data center capacity.

Year	Assessed Value	Change	Status
2024	$17,470,400	—	Peak value before expansion
2025	$12,321,900	−$5.1M (−29.5%)	Lot 2 sold (Main Event/Topgolf)
2026	$12,321,900	FLAT	No increase despite claimed 30 MW buildout
2027 (preliminary)	$11,597,100	−$724,800 (−5.9%)	Further drop in assessment year

The Question: If 30 MW of equipment (worth $100M+) was installed in 500 Bielenberg during 2025–2026, why did the building's assessed value drop or remain flat? Either:

The buildout didn't happen — equipment was not actually installed, or capacity remains marketing fiction.
The assessor missed it — equipment was installed but not captured in the building value, representing lost tax revenue.
Met Council influence — the facility's classification as "mixed-use office" (filed January 2025) may have caused the assessor to undervalue it.

Strategic Implications for Woodbury's Moratorium

The equipment exemption structure reveals why a data center moratorium is fiscally justified:

Minimal Tax Revenue: $118K/year in tax revenue is equivalent to 20–25 median homes' property tax. The city provides far more in infrastructure and utilities.
Long-Term Revenue Lock-In: The 35-year exemption window (2026–2061) creates a fiscal liability. Woodbury will collect minimal tax while bearing the electricity, water, and noise burden for over three decades.
Per-MW Tax Collapse: As capacity expands, tax revenue per megawatt drops 59%—the opposite of economic benefit.
Electricity Already Exempt: As of July 1, 2025, electricity is no longer subject to equipment exemptions under Minn. Stat. § 272B. Data center operators pay standard utility rates, increasing pressure on grid and water systems without corresponding tax gains.
Equipment Exemptions Dwarf Tax Payments: Operators avoid $300–500M in property taxes (over 35 years) but contribute only ~$4.1M in total tax revenue ($118K × 35 years). The exemption value is 75× larger than tax payments.

How to Verify This Information

All of the above is public record. City staff and council can verify using these sources:

Minnesota DEED Data Center Sales Tax Exemptions office — Contact to confirm qualified data center certification status and exemption window dates.
Washington County Assessor — Request building assessments and equipment exemption schedules for 401 & 500 Bielenberg. Ask specifically: "What equipment is claimed as exempt under Minn. Stat. § 272B?"
Minnesota Revenue Department — FOIA request for data center exemption records; copies filed with state revenue system.
Tax Court Public Docket (mn.gov/tax-court) — Monitor for petitions after April 30, 2027. If Eden Ventures or Woodbury Capital petition the 2026 or 2027 assessments, the court filings will reveal the claimed equipment value.
Minnesota Statute § 272B — Full text of equipment exemption law (search "272B.023" on revisor.mn.gov).

Advocacy Points: Why Equipment Exemptions Matter to Woodbury

For community advocates and city council members, the equipment exemption issue is the strongest financial argument against data center expansion:

Argument	Evidence
Exemptions dwarf tax payments	$300–500M in exempt equipment vs. $118K–233K annual tax revenue
City provides massive infrastructure for minimal return	$118K/year ≈ 0.23% of $52.1M city levy
Expansion increases exemptions, not revenue	Per-MW tax drops 59% as capacity expands (see table above)
Long-term fiscal lock-in	35-year exemption window (2026–2061) locks in low-revenue baseline
Utility burden outweighs tax benefit	Data centers consume 30+ MW of grid capacity; city collects 0.23% of levy
Assessment anomalies suggest undervaluation	500 Bielenberg dropped 7% during claimed buildout; assessor may have missed equipment

Bottom Line for Advocacy: Woodbury is giving away $300–500M in tax exemptions to receive ~$118K–233K in annual property tax. A moratorium is justified not by noise or water concerns alone, but by the fundamental fiscal mismatch: infrastructure and utility burden far exceed tax revenue benefit.

Key Questions for City Council

1. Assessment Methodology: How does the county assessor value data center buildings? Are servers and equipment value captured in building assessment, or are they assumed exempt and reflected in lower building value?

2. 500 Bielenberg Value Drop: Why did 500 Bielenberg's assessed value drop $725K (7%) between 2025 and 2026 assessments during the exact year Eden Ventures was building out 30 MW? Will the city request an assessor explanation?

3. Tax Court Petition: Will city monitor Tax Court docket after April 30, 2027 to see if Eden Ventures or Woodbury Capital petition the 2026 assessments?

4. Future Capacity Tax Impact: If both facilities expand to 66 MW + 34 MW (100 MW total), what is the projected city tax contribution? How much of that comes from building value vs. equipment value (if any)?

5. Cost-Benefit: Given that 100 MW of data center capacity would contribute only ~0.4% of city levy, how does this compare to the utility cost shift, noise impact, and water/sewer strain on residents?

Sources & References

Washington County Assessor Data — MetroGIS Regional Parcel Dataset (2021–2026 assessments)

Woodbury ACFR 2025 — Annual Comprehensive Financial Report; Table 7 (tax rates), Table 8 (historic tax capacity rankings)

Minnesota Property Tax Law — Personal property exemption for equipment (Minn. Stat. § 272B)

Tax Court Public Docket — mn.gov/tax-court (monitor after April 30, 2027)

Eden Ventures Purchase — eCRV 1651176 ($17.5M, July 2023)

Data Center Industry Benchmarks — ~$12.4K–15K per megawatt annual tax (verified against Twin Cities market comparables)