U.S. Data‑Center Construction Digest (Oct 28 – Nov 4, 2025)
This week’s U.S. Data Center Construction Digest highlights a surge in large-scale campus developments and AI-driven infrastructure investment across the country. Developers are advancing projects exceeding 400 MW, with major proposals in Virginia, Texas, and Michigan signaling a new wave of megacampus construction. The sector is also seeing an influx of creative financing models, from joint ventures to long-term hosting contracts, as developers race to meet the power and compute demands of AI workloads—amid mounting regulatory scrutiny and community resistance.
| Date | Developer / Project | Location & scale (MW / sq ft / acres) | Investment & timeline | Project status | Notes & Contractors |
| Nov 3 | Beale Infrastructure – Project Clydesdale (Tulsa campus) | Owasso, Oklahoma. Blue Owl‑backed Beale Infrastructure broke ground on Project Clydesdale, a data‑center campus occupying ~506 acres northeast of Tulsa. The campus will be built in phases; each phase will comprise ~200,000 sq ft of data‑center space. | The company announced a $1 billion investment and promised ~100 high‑paying jobs. Tulsa County’s board approved the project’s economic‑development plan and tax incentives in September. The groundbreaking occurred on Nov 3, but the article did not specify a completion date. | Under development (construction has begun). | Located north of East 76th St N and east of North Yale Ave; Beale also plans additional campuses in Coweta and De Soto. |
| Oct 31 | Tract – Mountain Road Technology Park | Hanover County, Virginia. Tract and partners filed to rezone ≈430 acres of farmland along Route 33/Mountain Road to develop a 900 MW data‑center park. The site is intended to become a master‑planned campus supplying shovel‑ready plots to hyperscalers. | No investment figure disclosed. Tract aims to align with Hanover’s Route 33 Gateway Small Area Plan; rezoning was filed in September and must be approved before construction can start. | In planning (rezoning stage; no construction yet). | Tract specializes in pre‑zoned, power‑ready parks. The park would complement the company’s larger Hanover Technology Park (2.4 GW over 1,200 acres). |
| Oct 31 | Related Digital / OpenAI / Oracle – “Stargate” campus | Saline Township, Michigan. Related Digital (a division of real‑estate firm Related Companies) and partners OpenAI and Oracle plan a >1 GW hyperscale campus on a 250‑acre site called The Barn. The design features three 550 k sq ft buildings using closed‑loop cooling and a huge battery‑storage system. | The project cost is not disclosed, but it is part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative. Construction is slated to begin in early 2026 pending approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission. Walbridge will serve as general contractor and DTE Energy will provide power; the campus could eventually scale beyond 1 GW. | In planning (awaiting regulatory approval; construction has not yet started). | A lawsuit between the township and the developer was settled Oct 30; the settlement limits water use and noise, forbids evaporative cooling and solar farms, and requires investment in local services. |
| Oct 30 | CleanSpark – Austin County, TX AI campus | Austin County (outside Houston), Texas. Bitcoin‑miner CleanSpark acquired ≈271 acres and signed long‑term power‑supply agreements totaling 285 MW. The site sits on a regional fiber backbone and near natural gas pipelines. | CleanSpark paid for the site in cash and shares; financial terms weren’t disclosed. The company plans to begin site design and development immediately, with >200 MW energized in the first half of 2027. | In planning / early development (design phase). | CleanSpark is pivoting from pure crypto mining to AI‑focused data centers. No contractors have been named. |
| Oct 30 | Crusoe & Blue Energy – Port of Victoria AI campus | Port of Victoria, Texas. AI data‑center developer Crusoe partnered with Blue Energy to power an up‑to‑1.5 GW campus on 1,600 acres. Blue Energy will initially supply gas‑generated power and convert to nuclear energy by 2031. | No cost disclosed. Blue Energy expects to begin delivering power as early as 2028 using a gas bridge, with full nuclear power by 2031. The plant aims to cut time‑to‑power to ~36 months. | In planning (power agreement; campus development details unspecified). | Crusoe says the Port of Victoria site offers access to major gas pipelines and grid infrastructure; the project would support a gigawatt‑scale AI factory. |
| Oct 29 | Karis Critical – Naperville Data Center | Naperville, Illinois. Karis plans a data‑center campus on a 40‑acre former Alcatel‑Lucent site. After local feedback, the company scaled back its proposal from two 211 k sq ft buildings totaling 72 MW to one 36 MW building. | The city’s planning department supports phase one but the Naperville Planning & Zoning Commission has delayed a recommendation to the city council until November. No cost or timeline has been disclosed. | In planning (awaiting local approval). | Karis positions the project as a “boutique” campus. Local residents have mounted opposition and called for a six‑month moratorium on data‑center approvals. |
| Oct 29 | TeraWulf & Fluidstack – Abernathy, TX campus | Abernathy, Texas. Bitcoin‑miner TeraWulf and AI‑cloud firm Fluidstack formed a joint venture to develop a 168 MW (critical IT load) data‑center campus on a 120‑acre site in Abernathy. The facility will have 240 MW of gross power and could expand with additional phases. | The 25‑year hosting agreement represents ~$9.5 billion in contracted revenue, with TeraWulf holding a 51% stake. Google is backing about $1.3 bn of Fluidstack’s long‑term lease obligations. The campus is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026. | In planning / early development (agreement announced; construction yet to start). | The site is near Lubbock; Outlaw Ventures is developing a 600 MW powered‑land site in Abernathy but it’s unclear whether this is the same parcel. Subsequent phases are envisioned. |
| Oct 28 | Unnamed hyperscaler (via JLL) – site search | Various US locations. Commercial real‑estate firm JLL issued a request for information on behalf of an unidentified investment‑grade hyperscaler seeking a 200‑acre site with ≥400 MW of power and the option to increase to 1 GW. The site must be pre‑zoned for data center use, relatively flat and have adequate water and 400 MW available by mid‑2027. | Investment requirements were not disclosed. The RFI closed Oct 29; the hyperscaler wants the site operational by mid‑2027. | In planning (site‑search phase). | JLL notes the company is an investment‑grade hyperscaler; potential candidates include Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Oracle or Meta |
Key Takeaways and Observations
- Surge in mega‑campus proposals and new builds: Multiple developers are pursuing campuses larger than 400 MW. Tract filed to rezone 430 acres in Virginia for a 900 MW park. Related Digital’s partnership with OpenAI/Oracle aims to build a >1 GW campus in Michigan, Crusoe’s Port of Victoria site could reach 1.5 GW, and Blue Owl‑backed Beale Infrastructure has already broken ground on a 506‑acre, $1 billion campus near Tulsa.
- Shift toward AI‑focused infrastructure: CleanSpark (a Bitcoin miner) and Crusoe (a former flared‑gas miner) are pivoting to AI data centers, acquiring large sites and power agreements in Texas. This underscores the demand for high‑density compute and reliable power for AI workloads.
- Joint ventures and new financing models: Developers are using partnerships and long‑term hosting contracts to finance large projects. TeraWulf’s joint venture with Fluidstack (backed by Google) plans a 168 MW campus in Abernathy, Texas, with $9.5 billion in contracted revenue and $1.3 billion in lease guarantees. Such arrangements illustrate how hyperscale demand and AI workloads are driving innovative funding structures.
- Regulatory hurdles and community pushback: Many projects are still in the planning stage due to rezoning, tax agreements or lawsuits. The Naperville project faces local opposition and calls for a moratorium, while the Michigan project required a settlement limiting water and noise. These delays could affect timelines.
- Power and sustainability: Several proposals rely on substantial power infrastructure. CleanSpark signed 285 MW supply agreements; Tract’s park aims for 900 MW; Crusoe is using gas‑to‑nuclear technology to deliver 1.5 GWand JLL’s hyperscaler search demands 400 MW with potential to scale to 1 GW. Sustainability considerations such as closed‑loop cooling and nuclear power highlight evolving approaches to meeting AI‑driven demand.