Plans for a major data center development in Port Washington are beginning to take shape, with the first phase of Vantage Data Centers’ proposed campus calling for more than 2.5 million square feet of construction across four primary buildings.
According to documents submitted to the city, Vantage is planning two 560,000-square-foot data centers and two larger buildings at 719,000 square feet each. The development would include extensive support infrastructure, such as generators, transformers, and dry coolers, to power and cool the facilities.
The project also includes a 6,500-square-foot visitor center near the main entrance on the northern edge of the site, as well as a 50,000-square-foot warehouse.
The city's Design Review Board is expected to evaluate the building, site, and operational plans for the 672-acre, fully-fenced campus during its meeting on Tuesday.
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Rendering from Corgan[/caption]
Headquartered in Denver, Vantage Data Centers operates 36 campuses across 22 markets on five continents. While the company doesn’t disclose specific tenants, it specializes in providing critical services like power, cooling and network connectivity for enterprise clients and cloud service providers.
Earlier this year, Houston-based
Cloverleaf Infrastructure secured land and power contracts as well as zoning and annexation agreements for the project site, which is bounded by I-43 on its south and east sides, Dixie Road to the north and the Ozaukee Interurban Trail to the west.
At that time, the total area under consideration for data center development— whether for Vantage or another user —was around 1,900 acres, according to city officials. Vantage's proposal for the first phase doesn't suggest if it's currently planning any future phases and what they could entail.
To support the development, the City of Port Washington is considering a proposed agreement that would provide Vantage with up to $175 million in public infrastructure funding. The development agreement is tied to a broader annexation effort that would bring 750 acres into the city from the neighboring Town of Port Washington. Some of the land for the data center was already annexed earlier this year and has been acquired by Vantage for more than $50 million, according to state property records.
Both the annexation proposal and the development agreement are scheduled to be reviewed at the Port Washington Common Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 19.
