Abandoned Milwaukee Walmart eyed for data center, housing and library space
News ClipWISN·Milwaukee County, WI·5/14/2026
A proposal seeks to transform a vacant Walmart in Milwaukee's Midtown Center into a mixed-use development, including a 19,000-square-foot data center, housing, and a library. The plan has sparked discussion among residents, and a public hearing was postponed to allow for further community engagement. City officials are seeking more details on the technology portion of the proposal.
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Gov: City of Milwaukee, Department of City Development, Alderman Mark Chambers
A proposal has been filed to redevelop the long-vacant 160,000-square-foot former Walmart at Midtown Center, located near 60th Street and Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The ambitious mixed-use plan includes library space, housing, a storage facility, and a "data processing facility," or data center.
The data center component, planned for 19,000 square feet, has drawn attention from local residents. While some, like Marquel Irby-McSwain, express questions about its purpose and location, others, such as Mark Parish, are open to the idea, noting its smaller scale compared to other large data center projects in nearby Mount Pleasant and Port Washington. Andrew Weiland, editor of BizTimes Milwaukee, highlighted the comparatively small footprint of the proposed facility.
Alderman Mark Chambers, whose district encompasses Midtown Center, emphasized the goal of ensuring the development brings