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.
In early March, Lebanon City Council approved a water agreement tied to the LEAP district, a move that supporters say helps keep the project on track while critics argue it leaves too much unresolved about future water withdrawals.
Statehouse efforts to slow or reshape the water side of the project also fell short this year, after legislation aimed at groundwater protection did not get a hearing and failed to advance.
Taken together, the latest updates suggest LEAP is progressing with major private investment and utility work advancing, as the district shifts from planning to active development.
Aerial photos capture this Boone County transition — a broad agricultural landscape with a concentrated industrial footprint starting to take shape, along with a sunset view that shows the scale of the buildout from above. The picture captures the story about how fast the Boone County landscape is changing.
