Correction, Oct. 14, 2026: An earlier version of this article said the revised site plan would reduce the project’s estimated taxable value per acre, and attributed the figure to the submitted plans. The figure is a Village of Mount Pleasant staff estimate of future value. According to the Village of Mount Pleasant, the decrease from the January 2026 staff report reflects a lower per-square-foot value used by staff, not the site plan change, and the added floor area alone would have increased the estimate. The article has been updated.
Microsoft is proposing to replace nine planned data-center buildings at its Durand Avenue campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, with seven single-story data centers, a storage building and two utility substations.
The revised plan would increase the campus’s total proposed floor area by about 400,000 square feet, to 5,878,080 square feet, according to documents submitted to the village. The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission is scheduled to review the proposal at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. Village staff have recommended approval, but the revised plans had not been approved as of Oct. 12.
Village officials said the lower estimate of the campus’s future value reflects more conservative valuation assumptions, not Microsoft’s revised plan for fewer, larger buildings. The latest estimate is about $7.7 million per acre, roughly $2.3 million below the figure in the January 2026 staff report. Between the two reports, staff lowered the assumed value per square foot. Officials said the additional floor area in the revised plan would have increased the estimate if that assumption had remained unchanged.
The figure is an internal planning projection, not the property’s assessed value. The Village uses it to estimate whether future property-tax revenue would exceed the cost of municipal services. Officials said the eventual assessed value could be higher.
Microsoft’s January proposal
Microsoft’s January proposal called for nine data-center buildings on the Durand Avenue site. The campus is part of a broader development in Mount Pleasant, where the village has approved plans covering as many as 15 data centers across two campuses. The final number of buildings Microsoft will construct remains unclear.
Development is already underway elsewhere in Microsoft’s local project. The company announced in June that its first Mount Pleasant data center was fully operational. Construction of a second facility next to it was ongoing, with completion scheduled for 2028, according to Microsoft.
The revised proposal applies to the Durand Avenue campus and does not change the separately approved plans for Microsoft’s International Drive campus.
The Plan Commission’s review is the next step in the village’s approval process. Any further action by the Village Board would depend on the outcome of that review.
AI data center boom
Microsoft’s revised Mount Pleasant data center proposal reflects the growing demand for computing capacity as the artificial intelligence boom accelerates. AI systems require vast amounts of computing power, driving technology companies to expand data center infrastructure across the United States. By proposing fewer, larger buildings while increasing total floor space, Microsoft’s plans highlight how developers are adapting campus designs to accommodate the scale of infrastructure needed to support AI workloads, cloud computing and other digital services.
A similar development is underway in New Mexico, where Oracle forecasts more than $13 billion in economic activity from its Project Jupiter data center campus. Oracle has also proposed up to $165 million in electricity-bill credits over three years for eligible El Paso Electric households and small businesses, potentially beginning in 2027.
Factsheet
- Developer: Microsoft
- Location: Durand Avenue campus, Mount Pleasant, Racine County, Wisconsin
- Revised proposal: Seven single-story data-center buildings, one storage building and two utility substations
- Total proposed floor area: 5,878,080 square feet, approximately 400,000 square feet more than under the previous plan
- Previous proposal: Nine data-center buildings
- Village staff’s estimated future value per acre: $7.7 million, about $2.3 million lower than in the January staff report. The Village says the change reflects a lower per-square-foot valuation used by staff, not the revised site plan.
- Next review: Mount Pleasant Plan Commission, scheduled for Oct. 14, 2026
- Status as of Oct. 12, 2026: Pending review; village staff recommend approval
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