By Jeremy M. Lazarus

For the Richmond area, Facebook is about to become more than a means for people to exchange messages and information.

The company is planting a $750 million data center in Henrico County that is projected to create hundreds of temporary construction jobs and at least 100 permanent jobs on the outskirts of Richmond.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe capped three years of talks with Facebook with the announcement last week that the company was coming and bringing $1 billion in new investment to the state.

That includes a $750 million data center, a place where the company can store digital information, to be built in a technology park near Richmond’s airport and a separate investment of about $250 million that Dominion Energy will make in solar facilities to power the center with renewable energy.

Facebook, which launched in 2004 and is now among the world’s largest companies, chose the White Oak Technology Park for what is touted as the area’s biggest single private investment ever.

The arrival of Facebook will be a boon to the county, which expects to receive at least $4 million a year in new taxes after the data center opens, officials said.

It also is a benefit to the state and the area, Gov. McAuliffe said as he welcomed Facebook.

“When an industry giant like Facebook selects Virginia for a major operation, it’s proof that our efforts to build an open and welcoming economy that works for everyone is paying off,” the governor said.

In addition, Facebook’s entry cements both the state and the area’s role “as a hub for global internet traffic,” he said. By working with companies like Facebook and others, “we are advancing our position as a global leader in the technology economy and as a world-class home to innovative companies of every size.”

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson called Facebook’s decision to locate in Henrico recognition of the “robust and readily available infrastructure at the technology park” and the county’s decision to reduce taxes on data centers.

Delegate Lamont Bagby, D-74th, said, “I am extremely pleased that Facebook chose to accept our friend request,” noting that the new investment shows that the county and the area are becoming “a top destination for the technology industry.”