Microsoft planning to build fewer data centers at sprawling Mount Pleasant campus
Microsoft is revising its Mount Pleasant campus plan to build seven larger data center buildings instead of the nine previously approved, increasing total planned building space to more than 5.8 million square feet. The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission approved the amended site plan with conditions, but the Village Board is expected to vote later this month; Microsoft also faces a lawsuit over noise complaints from nearby residents.
Microsoft is amending its expansion plans in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, reducing the number of planned data center buildings from nine to seven while increasing total building space to more than 5.8 million square feet. The revised project also includes an office and storage building, a guardhouse and two substations. Microsoft said the changes are intended to enable faster development and do not represent reduced ambition.
The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission unanimously approved the amended site plan with more than a dozen conditions, including a condition proposed by Village Trustee Nancy Washburn that Microsoft consider noise protection for part of the site. The Village Board is expected to vote on the plan later this month. Microsoft’s existing Fairwater facility is operational, while a second data center is expected to be completed in 2028. The company was sued in July after nearby residents complained about noise, dust, light pollution, traffic and other effects of the development.