Dive brief:
- OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers plan to develop nearly one gigawatt data center campus outside of Milwaukee as part of the ongoing Stargate partnership, according to an Oct. 22 release.
- The $15 billion, four-building campus in Port Washington, Wis., will feature several infrastructure improvements, including $175 million in local water and power facilities, as well as improvements to wastewater capacity and sewer lines.
- The announcement marks Stargate’s continued national expansion and underscores the growing role of the data center industry in overall construction activity.
Diving knowledge:
The Wisconsin project is an important step Stargate’s $500 billion push to build 10 gigawatts of artificial intelligence infrastructure across the country.
The initiative has expanded rapidly since its launch in January, with new locations in Texas, New Mexico and Ohio on the way. Stargate’s pipeline now totals nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity, including its flagship campus in Abilene, Texas, which began shipping Nvidia GB200 racks in June.
For contractors, the deal highlights how the AI-driven data center boom continues to fuel demand, despite some concerns for the rest of commercial construction. For example, contractors working in the data center they now report roughly 12 months of lag, well above the industry average of 8.5 months.
“As demand for data centers expands beyond traditional hubs, the upper Midwest has become a critical and strategic market,” Dana Adams, president of North America for Vantage Data Centers, said in the statement. “Our investment in Wisconsin reflects the area’s strong foundation for digital growth to support sustainable AI innovation at scale.”
Construction on the Wisconsin campus will begin soon and be completed by 2028, according to the release.
