Microsoft, State Announce Massive Data Center Expansion, Land Purchase
Company will own more land than Foxconn in Racine County business park.
The Foxconn campus Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, in Mount Pleasant, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Microsoft is planning to expand its development of a data center in Mount Pleasant, with plans to purchase another thousand acres in the village and to invest “billions of dollars” at the site over the next decade.
Gov. Tony Evers announced the plan Friday.
Microsoft announced in March that it planned to invest $1 billion to build a data center on 315 acres once set aside for the Foxconn development in Racine County. The company broke ground on the center in September.
Now, Microsoft plans to construct additional data centers on land initially meant for Foxconn, with plans to purchase 1,030 additional acres in a tax incremental district created for the Taiwan-based company, according to a joint release from Mount Pleasant, Racine County and Milwaukee 7.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that the terms of the deal between the village and Microsoft says
the company will guarantee an additional property value of $1.4 billion by 2028. The deal is slated to be presented to the village board on Monday.
Local officials said Microsoft become the largest landowner in a district originally intended for Foxconn, pending the land purchase being approved by the village and county.
They said the company also plans to invest $4.2 million to restore 1.5 miles of Lamparek Creek, $100,000 for water restoration efforts throughout the county and $200,000 to support education efforts in science, technology, engineering and math.
In a statement, Evers said he’s thrilled Microsoft will continue to grow its operations in the state, and thanked local partners for their efforts.
“Microsoft’s injection of billions of dollars to expand its operations in Mount Pleasant will have a positive impact that will be felt in the region and across our state for years, and I cannot wait for this partnership to continue to strengthen and develop as this effort moves forward,” he said.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, in a statement, credited the strength of the state’s workforce, infrastructure and educational opportunities for the company’s plans to expand its Wisconsin footprint.
Evers’ office said Microsoft’s decision comes after legislation was included in the biennial budget designed to support data centers, and follows the federal decision to designate Wisconsin as a regional tech hub.
A pair of Republicans in the state Legislature praised Microsoft’s plans. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Racine, in a joint statement called it “an incredible day” for Mount Pleasant, saying the village “played a pivotal role in facilitating the expansion.”
“We’re optimistic this partnership will not only transform the local landscape but also attract talent and innovation to Wisconsin,” Vos and Wittke said. “We look forward to what lies ahead as this expansion takes shape.”
The company’s investment in the industrial area comes after plans for Foxconn at the site have dwindled to a tiny fraction of the original plans for a manufacturing center in Mount Pleasant. In a deal announced in 2017, the company said it would invest $9 billion at the site and employ 13,000 in return for a $3 billion incentive plan.
Microsoft to expand its investment in Mount Pleasant, spending ‘billions’ to grow in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the Foxconn Facility
- Foxconn Will Get State Subsidy For 2022 - Joe Schulz - Dec 11th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Approves Microsoft Deal on Foxconn Land - Evan Casey - Nov 28th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Deal With Microsoft Has No Public Subsidies - Evan Casey - Nov 14th, 2023
- Microsoft, State Announce Massive Data Center Expansion, Land Purchase - Joe Schulz - Nov 11th, 2023
- Gov. Evers Announces Microsoft Makes Major Investment in Wisconsin - Gov. Tony Evers - Nov 10th, 2023
- State Can’t Regulate We Energies $100 Million Project for Microsoft - Joe Schulz - Sep 20th, 2023
- Foxconn Selling Green Bay, Eau Claire ‘Centers’ - Joe Schulz - Aug 16th, 2023
- Murphy’s Law: Foxconn Deal Is Still Costing Taxpayers - Bruce Murphy - Jul 6th, 2023
- Microsoft Will Pay $50 Million For Mount Pleasant Data Center Site - Evan Casey - Apr 20th, 2023
- Microsoft Data Center Proposed for Foxconn Land - Evan Casey - Mar 29th, 2023
Read more about Foxconn Facility here
I would expect Microsoft to do its due diligence on this transaction since Foxconn regularly backs out of its commitments with no regard on the effects for the communities that it impacted. For Foxconn, promises mean nothing. I would think that they are probably making a nice profit on the deal. “Due diligence” is something that Republican members of the Wisconsin Legislature had forgotten in negotiating the original deal with Foxconn.
I thought the Foxconn tax incentives were based on hitting certain investment & employment targets?
And Vos, without a scintilla of irony, trolls for the Mt.Pleasant vote, hoping they’ve forgotten about his last girlfriend, “Foxscamma”. When will there be an accounting of the whole ripoff?
Thank goodness Evers was able to rescue the Foxconn disaster Walker dumped on state taxpayers.. Unlike Walker, Evers did not just walk away from the deal his predecessor “negotiated” (remember the high speed train deal, which cost the state $860 million dollars in lost federal aid and settlement with Taigo.) Instead, he held Foxconn to the terms it negotiated while also looking for other corporate investments. To date, Mount Pleasant has spent $166 millions related to Foxconn. As a result of Evers efforts the village will be able to recoup its investment.
This perfectly illustrated how working for the good of the people of Wisconsin is so far superior to imposing strict ideology. Compromise is essential for good government; something Vos has not figured out.