The Potawatomi Business Development Corp. (PBDC), which is the economic diversification arm of the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, today unveiled plans to build a new, $36 million, 45,000-square-foot, multi-tenant wholesale data center. The project will be built as part of the tribe’s effort to redevelop the 11-acre Concordia Trust Property site at the intersection of 33rd and State Streets in Milwaukee.
Construction is expected to begin in April and be complete by the second quarter of 2013.
"As part of PBDC’s mission to diversify the tribes’ portfolio beyond gaming, we believe building and operating a data center is an attractive opportunity that will serve a growing and unmet need in the southeastern Wisconsin business community," said Pepi Randolph, chief executive officer of the Potawatomi Business Development Corp. "Currently, there is not a data center in the area that has the level and scale of technology that we plan to provide. Our data center would be part of an intelligent approach to addressing the region’s IT needs that will help keep Milwaukee relevant, progressive, and attractive from an IT perspective. From an economic development standpoint, high-end infrastructure means high-end work and jobs. That’s good for everyone."
The Concordia property was placed into federal trust and has been owned by the tribe since 1990. At the time, it was considered a potential site for the Potawatomi Bingo Casino, but neighbors objected to that plan and the casino was built in the Menomonee Valley instead. Concordia University moved out of the property in 1983 to its current location in Mequon. The Indian Community School occupied the property from 1987 until 2010 when it moved to a new facility in Franklin.
The tribe’s redevelopment plans for the campus also includes adaptive reuse of some of the decades-old buildings on the site.
