BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — The LEAP Innovation and Research District north of Lebanon continues to move forward in fits and starts, with construction activity visible across the site and major utility and land-use milestones still unfolding in March 2026.
The biggest recent development came in mid-February when Meta officially broke ground on its more than $10 billion, 1,500-acre data center campus at the LEAP district, one of the largest technology investments in Indiana history.
At the same time, the project’s water infrastructure remains the defining challenge. Indiana plans to supply the district through a network that would move up to 25 million gallons a day to Boone County, including a major transmission system from Central Indiana water sources and related treatment and return-flow work.
That water plan has kept drawing scrutiny from residents and lawmakers, who have raised concerns about cost, transparency and the effect on Eagle Creek Reservoir…