U.S. Data‑Center Construction Digest (Oct 20 – 27 2025)
There has been a surge of U.S. data‑center announcements and regulatory decisions over the past few weeks. Projects range from small campus conversions to multi‑gigawatt hyperscale campuses. Community opposition and power supply challenges remain recurring themes. The table below summarizes the key developments.
New projects and milestones
| Developer/Entity | Location & project | Size / capacity / investment | Timeline / status | Notes (GC/contractor & other details) |
| Monticello Tech Park – Frattalone Companies (Monticello Tech LLC) | Monticello, Minnesota – proposed Monticello Tech Park on ~500 acres north of I‑94 | Plan calls for multiple 300 kft² buildings totaling ≈3 M ft² with a potential US$5 bn investment; city initiating an Alternative Urban Area Review (AUAR) to assess impacts | Early planning – AUAR underway; no end‑user yet | The site would be annexed into the city; officials amended the comprehensive plan to allow data‑center development.Change.org petition has >600 signatures opposing the project. |
| Scannell Technology Park – Scannell Properties | Monticello, Minnesota – separate proposal on 106 acres west of the Frattalone site | Four two‑story buildings totaling ≈1.3 M ft²; sales brochure suggests 150 MW available by 2027 | Planning stages; brochure marketing 2027 delivery | Part of wider Monticello debates; not yet submitted for formal approval. |
| Applied Digital / CoreWeave | Ellendale, North Dakota – Polaris Forge 1 AI Factory Campus | First 50 MW of a 100 MW building now ready; part of a 400 MW agreement with tenant CoreWeave under a 15‑yr, $11 bn contract. Campus designed for 400 MW IT load with >1 GW under load study. | Construction started Sept 2022; remaining 50 MW due later 2025 | Applied Digital provides HPC/AI colocation; this is the first milestone on a 400 MW campus. |
| FAE Clark LLC / unknown end‑user | Athens‑Clarke County, Georgia – proposed data‑center rezoning | Proposal sought to rezone 233 acres of farmland for four buildings totaling ≈2 M ft²; no capacity or end‑user disclosed. | County commission denied the rezoning on Oct 27; commissioners discussed imposing a data‑center moratorium. | Illustrates community pushback; developer may need to revise or abandon plans. |
| Compass Mining | Texas (undisclosed location) – new bitcoin mining site | 20 MW cryptomining site energized; part of Compass’s operations‑as‑a‑service model. Company now operates ≈160 MW across 20 U.S. sites. | Site went live Oct 25; earlier expansions in Minnesota (7.5 MW) and Texas (10 MW) were noted. | Focused on crypto/hyper‑scale; not a hyperscale data center but indicates additional demand on Texas power grid. |
| Menlo Equities (Menlo Digital) | Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia – MD‑DC1 | Two‑story, 307 kft² data center on 9 acres delivering 48 MW across four 12 MW halls; Dominion Energy’s Lincoln Park substation will supply 67 MW of utility power. | Ground‑breaking announced Oct 24; powered shell delivery planned for summer 2026. | Clune Construction is the general contractor. Part of a wider Menlo pipeline (144 MW in Loudoun County, 300 MW in Richmond). |
| QTS Realty & partners | Cedar Rapids, Iowa – new campus at Big Cedar Industrial Center | Three buildings topped‑out on a 612‑acre site; campus could comprise up to seven buildings and is valued at ~$10 bn. Uses waterless cooling and is built on repurposed industrial land | Construction of phase one expected to finish next year | Built with The Weitz Company and Layton Construction. Google is also building a campus nearby. |
| BentallGreenOak (BGO) | U.S. (portfolio) – fund for data‑center development | Raised $260 m from new and existing investors to develop U.S. data centers; aims to secure 800 MW of power to build 3.2 M ft² across a portfolio spanning 1,500 acres | Capital raised Oct 22; details of specific sites not disclosed | Highlights investor appetite; BGO previously developed 6.4 M ft² and leased 5 M ft² of data‑center space. |
| Legacy Investing / Prime Group | Chicago, Illinois – 400 S. LaSalle Street conversion | Purchased a 385 kft² office (former Cboe HQ) for $40 m; will be converted into a 33 MW data center scheduled to go live late 2026 | Rezoning and conversion underway; building previously used for trading floor | Prime Group secured the necessary power; co‑founder Daniel English noted strong demand and limited supply. |
| Bitfarms & Macquarie | Pennsylvania – Panther Creek AI campus | Converted a $300 m corporate loan into project‑level financing; will draw $50 m more to start civil works and substation construction for Phase I of a 350 MW data‑center campus | Construction of civil works and a substation to begin in Q4 2025 | Site sits on the former Panther Creek power plant; financing aims to accelerate the 350 MW AI campus. |
| Beale Infrastructure (Blue Owl–backed) | Marana, Arizona – two new sites & Project Blue | Two 300‑acre sites south of Pinal Airpark Rd and west of I‑10 submitted to Marana in Oct 2025; the firm is also pursuing Project Blue, a 290‑acre campus in Pima County with plans for up to 10 buildings, 600 MW, 2 M ft² and US$3.6 bn investment. | Marana applications are in early stages; Project Blue’s first phase aims to go live by 2027 | Marana campus would use air cooling; Project Blue uses closed‑loop air cooling and has filed for a 286 MW energy supply agreement. Local residents (No Desert Data Center Coalition) oppose the projects. |
| Beale Infrastructure – Oklahoma projects | Coweta & Owasso, Oklahoma – Project Atlas and Project Clydesdale | In Coweta (Wagoner County), Beale has a purchase and sale agreement for land along State Highway 51B and has submitted a rezoning request details forthcoming. In Owasso (Tulsa County), Project Clydesdale is a 506‑acre campus with multiple phases; each phase would be ≈200 kft² | Local economic development plan and tax incentives have been approved; open houses planned | Projects highlight expansion beyond traditional data‑center hubs; local pushback and environmental concerns similar to Arizona proposals. |
| Allegheny DC Property Co. (affiliate of Davidson Kempner) | Springdale, Pennsylvania – former Cheswick power station | Plans call for a 565 kft² data center with 180 MW IT load and a 200 kft² cooling/management building on a 47‑acre brownfield. | Springdale planning commission delayed recommendation on Oct 22; next meeting Oct 27 | Landowner Charah Environmental says site is under contract with a major developer. Another data‑center proposal in nearby Stowe Township by SunCap Industries is also being considered. |
| Morgan County, Indiana – new campus near Monrovia | Google confirmed plans to develop a 390‑acre site comprising up to five buildings; rezoning approved in late September. | Project is in evaluation phase; timeline not yet disclosed | The campus spans 18 parcels and lies between Keller Hill Road and West Union Church Road. Google says it is planning future capacity and working with county officials. | |
| EagleRock Partners | Jones County, Georgia – Crooked Creek Technology Park | Proposed to rezone >600 acres for a campus that could reach ≈1.8 M ft²; estimated investment US$5–7 bn | Developers withdrew the rezoning application on Oct 22 amid vocal opposition | The project could return with revisions; EagleRock’s Pine Ridge Technology Park in Twiggs County was approved last month despite local pushback. |
| Loring LiquidCool Data Center LLC / Green 4 Maine | Aroostook County, Maine – former Loring Air Force Base | Developing a 5‑6 MW data center on a 115 kft² warehouse (building 7230). Green 4 Maine has access to 50 MW of hydropower from New Brunswick and sees the project as first of a multi‑building campus. | Lease signed Oct 21; timeline not specified; site currently houses AI/quantum startup Eternal Mind. | Company says several other buildings at the base are suitable for data centers. |
| Prominent Property Group / Savannah Developers / Power Infrastructure Partners | Jarrell, Texas – Mesone Data Center | City council annexed and rezoned a 150‑acre parcel at 3911 County Road 305, changing its land‑use to allow a data center. The developers plan to supply ≈200 MW using natural gas and grid power. | Ordinances adopted Oct 14; site now ready for development | End‑user unknown; local residents raised concerns about water and power infrastructure. |
| Peterson Companies (Real Estate Pursuits 2 LC) | Stafford County, Virginia – Project Sisson | Proposal for 16 two‑story data‑center buildings totaling 3.8 M ft² with four substations. Cooling water would come from the Little Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant. | Permit filed Oct 21 with the US Army Corps of Engineers; project still in planning. | Site chosen for proximity to Northern Virginia’s data‑center network. Peterson previously sought to rezone 850 acres for the Forest Lane Data Center; this filing clarifies design and water source. |
| ProEnergy | Equipment supplier for multiple data centers | Retrofits CF6‑80C2 jet engines into PE6000 turbines providing 48 MW each. Sold 21 turbines for two data‑center projects totalling >1 GW. Turbines serve as bridging power for five‑to‑seven years until grid interconnection. | Announced Oct 22; delivery possible as soon as 2027. | Highlights the growing reliance on off‑grid natural‑gas power solutions due to turbine shortages. |
| Meta & Blue Owl Capital | Richland Parish, Louisiana – Hyperion AI campus | Formed a US$27 bn joint venture to develop the Hyperion data‑center campus. Blue Owl owns 80 % of the JV and Meta 20 %. Campus sits on 2,250 acres and could scale to ~5 GW with up to nine buildings totaling ≈4 M ft². | Facilities will be built in phases through 2030; Meta will lease the buildings with a four‑year initial term but guarantees 16 years of payments. | Meta contributed land and assets; Blue Owl invested $7 bn and raised debt via PIMCO. Campus likely to use natural gas for power. |
| TierPoint | Breinigsville (Lehigh County), Pennsylvania – TekPark campus | Acquired its largest data center (122 kft², ≈16 MW currently) and the 137‑acre campus via a $240 m asset‑backed securitization. TierPoint plans a 100 MW power expansion by 2H 2026. | Purchase and financing announced Oct 24; expansion underway | TekPark includes nine buildings totaling 508 kft²; TierPoint aims to own rather than lease assets. |
| US Department of the Air Force | Multiple bases – AI‑data‑center leases | Issued an RFP to lease >3,000 acres across five military bases (Davis‑Monthan AFB in AZ, Edwards AFB in CA, Robins AFB in GA, Joint Base McGuire‑Dix‑Lakehurst in NJ, and Arnold AFB in TN) for AI data centers. Proposals must deliver >100 MW of new load and ≥$500 m in capital investments. | Responses are due Nov 14, 2025; site selection to follow | Illustrates government involvement in large AI infrastructure; terms require security clearances and resilient power. |
| Oracle | Shackelford County, Texas & Port Washington, Wisconsin – hyperscale campuses | Secured a $38 bn debt package: $23.25 bn to fund a 1.4 GW, 10‑building, 3.7 M ft² campus in Shackelford County (first building due 2H 2026, completion by 2028); and $14.75 bn for a near‑gigawatt campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin. | Financing expected to close soon; construction to start in 2026 | Underlines the scale of AI‑driven data‑center developments and lenders’ willingness to fund them. |
Key takeaways
- Mega‑campus financing: Investment announcements dwarfed other news. Meta/Blue Owl’s $27 bn joint venture for the Hyperion campus in Louisiana and Oracle’s $38 bn debt package for Texas and Wisconsin illustrate the immense capital flowing into hyperscale AI campuses.
- Power and cooling innovations: Projects increasingly rely on natural‑gas‑fueled power (e.g., Prometheus Hyperscale, Mesone Data Center, Hyperion). ProEnergy’s PE6000 turbines show how developers are turning retired jet engines into 48 MW power blocks to meet immediate demand. Waterless and closed‑loop air cooling systems are being deployed at QTS Cedar Rapids and Beale’s Project Blue.
- Community pushback & regulation: Local opposition led to the withdrawal of the Crooked Creek rezoning request in Georgia and the denial of a 2 M ft² project in Athens‑Clarke County. Monticello, Springdale and Marana developments are also facing petitions or delays. Policymakers are considering moratoria to study impacts.
- Diversification of locations: While Northern Virginia remains the data‑center capital, growth is spreading to Minnesota, North Dakota, Indiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maine, often on large tracts of industrial or agricultural land. This diversification aims to secure cheaper land and power but is causing new environmental and community concerns.
- Government involvement: The U.S. Air Force’s RFP to lease land for AI data centers demonstrates federal interest in ensuring AI infrastructure while leveraging under‑utilized land. Local economic development agencies (e.g., Morgan County EDC) are also courting hyperscale firms to boost tax revenues.