AI 'man camps' offer golf, free steaks to lure workers in Texas

The surge in artificial intelligence data center development is pushing construction into rural regions often lacking the necessary housing and infrastructure for thousands of temporary workers. This has prompted data center developers and their contractors to increasingly rely on sprawling temporary housing villages, dubbed "man camps," a solution previously popularized during the shale-oil boom. To attract in-demand electricians, welders, and pipefitters, these camps offer amenities such as game rooms, free steaks, and shuttle services. This trend is fueling a lucrative niche for specialized companies like Target Hospitality Corp. and Civeo Corp. Target Hospitality, which prefers the term "workplace hubs," has signed agreements worth $331 million over two years for data center projects in Texas and Nevada. One significant project includes a $43 million contract to support Galaxy Digital Inc.'s 1.6-gigawatt data center conversion in Dickens County, Texas, near the unincorporated community of Afton. This site is projected to house 1,500 people, nearly doubling the county's population and significantly boosting local sales tax receipts, although Dickens County Judge Kevin Brendle noted the infrastructure strain and "overwhelming" impact on long-time residents. Similar developments are underway in Louisiana, where Meta is building one of the world's largest data centers in the northeastern part of the state. Near Delhi, companies like Corporate Mobile Housing LLC and GoMotel have established large temporary villages for the 5,000 to 7,000 construction workers. John Lauve, CEO of Corporate Mobile Housing, anticipates being on-site for 10 to 15 years, especially with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg suggesting potential expansion to 5 gigawatts. Lauve is also pursuing new business in northwestern Louisiana, where Amazon is investing $12 billion in data center campuses. Construction firms like Suffolk Construction's president of mission critical projects, Charles McCarthy, highlighted the necessity of providing housing in remote areas where "there's not a whole lot out there." This has created a "traveling circus" lifestyle for specialized workers, with companies actively recruiting husband-and-wife teams, father-son pairs, and military veterans. Other temporary housing firms, including Atco Structures & Logistics, are also seeing significant demand, quoting numerous large-scale projects, despite challenges with developers' often-unfeasible timelines.