Microsoft Shrinks Data Center Count, Grows Footprint In Mount Pleasant
Microsoft is revising its Mount Pleasant campus plan to build seven larger data center buildings instead of nine, increasing total building space to more than 5.8 million square feet. The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission approved the amended site plan, while the Village Board is expected to vote later this month; the project also faces resident noise complaints and a lawsuit.
Microsoft is reducing the number of planned data center buildings at its Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, campus from nine to seven while increasing the proposed building space from just over 5.2 million square feet to more than 5.8 million square feet. The revised plan also includes an office and storage building, a guardhouse and two substations. Microsoft said the changes are intended to speed development and do not represent reduced ambitions for the site.
The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission unanimously approved the amended site plan with more than a dozen conditions, including a request that Microsoft consider additional noise protection. The Village Board is expected to vote on the plan later in October. The campus is facing complaints about construction noise, dust, lighting, traffic and other impacts, and Microsoft was sued in July over noise concerns. Its first Mount Pleasant facility, Fairwater, is operational, while a second facility is expected to be completed in 2028.