$15 billion Vantage data center breaks ground in Port Washington

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Construction work has officially begun on the $15 billion data center project in Port Washington.

Denver-based Vantage Data Centers on Wednesday broke ground on its 672-acre data center campus with four buildings near Interstate 43, around 27 miles north of Milwaukee. The campus, expected to be completed in 2028, will have around 2.5 million square feet and 902 megawatts of capacity, officials said.

It’s part of an investment by OpenAI and Oracle in the $500 billion Stargate program for artificial intelligence data centers across the country.

The project is expected to create more than 4,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs after creation and thousands of indirect jobs throughout the region, nonprofit Milwaukee 7 said in a social media post.

In October, Vantage announced a partnership with the Wisconsin Building Trades Council to use union labor to build the Lighthouse data center campus.

In attendance on Wednesday’s groundbreaking were Emily Pritzkow, executive director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council, Dan Bukiewicz, president of the Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council, Chris Mambu Rasch, executive director of Building Advantage, Gale Klappa, chair of the board at WEC Energy Group and co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 and Ted Neitzke IV, mayor of Port Washington.

“I can’t wait for the day that we have this world-class project open, that people identify Port Washington for two things: our history and our future, that we are a model of sustainability across the state and country,” Neitzke said in a statement.

“For Port Washington, we see a city poised for new life, for economic growth and a new era of prosperity, investment and a greater quality of life,” Klappa said in statement.

The construction team includes Turner, McCarthy, Whiting-Turner and Weitz. Local contractors and subcontractors are involved as well.

Data centers in Port Washington, Mount Pleasant and Beaver Dam have faced scrutiny over electricity and water usage, with environmental groups watching the proximity between energy-intensive facilities and Lake Michigan. The facility in Port Washington could be one of the largest in the country, The Conversation reported.

A group of Port Washington residents filed paperwork to recall Mayor Ted Neitzke and said they felt the mayor didn’t inform the public about the project or address their concerns about the environment and energy prices, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. However, Neitzke said it’s a done deal, as Vantage achieved all needed permits and solidified a tax increment district with the city.

Vantage officials have said their project will be designed to be sustainable and touted a closed-loop liquid cooling system to use minimal water. Additionally, the company said it wants development of renewable energy to meet the campus’ demand and add capacity to the grid for local consumers. Vantage also has plans to preserve 172 acres to support biodiversity and provide natural sound mitigation, officials added.