Saturday, January 24, 2026
Friday, January 23, 2026
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Microsoft's Racine County data centers to equal 40 Walmart Supercenters
Ricardo Torres
Microsoft Corp. is planning 15 more data centers and adding 8.7 million square feet to its operation in Racine County.
The Mount Pleasant Village Plan Commission unanimously approved the site plans for Microsoft's latest development on Jan. 21. The approval goes to the full village board.
Microsoft has had a presence in the area since it announced it was building its first data center in 2024.
This latest proposal, if approved by officials from the Village of Mount Pleasant, marks the biggest expansion the company has made since it came to Wisconsin.
Here's what to know about Microsoft's latest plans for Mount Pleasant.
What is the scope of the Racine County Microsoft projects?
Microsoft's biggest presence is in Mount Pleasant in Racine County. So far, the company has committed more than $7.3 billion in the first phase of its data center campus to support its efforts on artificial intelligence, and it's likely to grow as the demand for data centers increases.
What's the location of the planned Microsoft projects in Racine County?
There are two proposals being evaluated by Mount Pleasant officials. One is located on Durand Avenue and the other is on International Drive.
On Durand Avenue, the proposal is planning for up to nine data centers with additional office space, each up to 579,796 square feet. The proposal also includes a 96,000-square-foot office and storage building, and other accessory buildings.
On International Drive, the proposal is planning for six data centers and additional office space, each up to 568,103 square feet. The proposal includes a 74,000-square-foot office and storage building, and other accessory buildings.
Is there a timeline for all of this construction?
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: Microsoft has issued a statement saying "Microsoft has proposed an expansion in Mount Pleasant, with plans submitted for two additional datacenter campuses on land we purchased in 2024. These preliminary plans are the next step in our years-long development process and we look forward to sharing more about our specific plans as we go forward as we've done for our first two sites in May 2024 and September of 2025 respectively."
How many buildings has Microsoft constructed in Racine County?
The company is finishing up its first data center, which consists of multiple buildings. And Microsoft is planning on breaking ground on a second data center later this year.
What guidelines must Microsoft follow while building in Mount Pleasant?
Village staff has set conditions to the proposals which include meeting architectural, lighting, parking and other modifications.
Also, Microsoft must "comply with all Racine Water Utility, Mount Pleasant Sanitary Sewer Utility, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources rules and permissions regarding consuming and returning water to the applicable utility systems and watersheds," the staff report says.
How many buildings does Microsoft plan to construct in Racine County?
If what Microsoft is planning comes to fruition, then nearly 20 buildings are planned for the next several years. However businesses change course regularly, even on the plot of land Microsoft is building on. It was originally intended for a giant campus for Foxconn but the original plans fell apart, giving Microsoft an opportunity to build its data centers.
And in 2025 Microsoft paused construction on its first data center for a brief period of time as the company because it was "assessing demand overall for AI and the other was assessing what kind of data center would make the most sense to build here for the second phase," according to Brad Smith, Microsoft president.
How does the Microsoft data center square footage compare with a Walmart Supercenter?
Walmart Supercenters can range from 99,000 to 260,000 square feet. A Walmart Supercenter is about 200,000 square feet.
Each data center and office space Microsoft is proposing is more than 560,000 square feet, which is nearly three times the size of a Supercenter. With 15 proposed data centers being evaluated for Mount Pleasant, that's easily more than two Walmart Supercenters per data center.
So doing some quick back of the envelope math, that means this project is in the size range of roughly 40 Walmart Supercenters in Mount Pleasant.
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Bitter wind chills to stay in Racine and Kenosha this week
Milana Doné
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Racine and Kenosha counties can expect frigid wind chills the rest of the week. |
RACINE — Racine and Kenosha counties can expect frigid wind chills the rest of the week.
According to meteorologist Benjamin Sheppard of the National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan station, Wednesday will bring highs in the mid 20s and single digit lows. The wind chill will be around 10 degrees, falling into the single digits overnight.
Early Wednesday morning is supposed to bring three to four inches of snow. The winter weather advisory will end at 6 a.m. Wednesday, but the snow may still affect the morning commute.
Wednesday's temperatures will help the salt on the roads be more effective as the day goes in. Caution should still be taken on the evening commute.
There will be a lull during the day before the snow returns Wednesday evening shortly after 5 p.m. until around midnight. Sheppard said it will yield an additional half an inch to an inch and a half of snow.
This precipitation is not lake effect snow, he said.
“Based off of the wind’s direction that we’re getting with this, this will just a good old synoptically, system-driven snowfall. None of that snow will be lake effect or lake enhanced,” Sheppard said.
Thursday will have highs in the teens and lows from negative 7 to negative 12. The windchill Thursday night into Friday is slated to reach into the negative 20s.
Friday will see highs around zero or slightly below while lows are predicted to be between negative 7 to negative 14.
Sheppard said the worst cold will be Thursday night into Friday. The National Weather Service has not officially released an advisory as of Tuesday morning, but he expects there will at least be a cold weather advisory.
“Depending on how things trend in that time window, we are potentially considering an extreme cold watch which would then be upgraded into an extreme cold warning,” Sheppard said.
If there is an official advisory, he said those are often put in place at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of the extreme conditions.
Sheppard recommends taking precautions for the cold and snow this week.
Suggestions include budgeting plenty of travel time to reach destinations and even considering avoiding travel if it is not necessary.
Additionally, people in Racine and Kenosha counties should be bundling their winter clothes, dressing in layers, reducing time spent outdoors, keeping pets indoors and ensuring heaters and furnace exhaust outputs are unclogged to combat carbon monoxide risks.
Microsoft proposes adding 15 data centers to Mount Pleasant project
Ricardo Torres
Developments have total estimated value of $13.3 billion
Microsoft Corp. is planning a massive expansion of its Mount Pleasant operations by adding 15 more data centers and other buildings – totaling over 8.7 million square feet and generating tens of millions of dollars in annual property tax revenue.
That's according to two new proposals filed with the village Plan Commission. It's scheduled to meet on Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.
Both developments would be on property initially planned for Foxconn Technology Group.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said:
"Microsoft has proposed an expansion in Mount Pleasant, with plans submitted for two additional datacenter campuses on land we purchased in 2024.
"These preliminary plans are the next step in our years-long development process and we look forward to sharing more about our specific plans as we go forward as we've done for our first two sites in May 2024 and September of 2025 respectively."
One development, planned for Durand Avenue, would build up to nine data centers with additional office space, each up to 579,796 square feet. The proposal also includes a 96,000-square-foot office and storage building, and other accessory buildings.
It brings that portion of the expansion to 5.2 million square feet on 791 acres, which village staff is recommending the Plan Commission approve.
That development is estimated to be worth more than $7.97 billion, the staff report says.
The project is occurring in a tax incremental financing district. That means its property tax revenue will help pay for roads, sewers and other public improvements within the district.
After that debt is paid off, the development could generate more than $45.2 million in annual property tax revenue for the village, the report says.
The other development is planned for International Drive and includes six data centers and additional office space, each up to 568,103 square feet. The proposal includes a 74,000-square-foot office and storage building, and other accessory buildings.
That proposal, also being recommended for approval, totals 3.5 million square feet on 530 acres.
The International Drive development has an estimated value of more than $5.33 billion.
It could generate up to $30.8 million in annual property tax revenue for the village after the tax financing district debt is paid off. Property tax revenue also would flow to Racine Unified School District, Racine County and other local governments.
Village staff does have conditions to the proposals which include meeting architectural, lighting, parking and other modifications.
Also, Microsoft must "comply with all Racine Water Utility, Mount Pleasant Sanitary Sewer Utility, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources rules and permissions regarding consuming and returning water to the applicable utility systems and watersheds," the staff report says.
There are also plans for three electrical substations planned for these developments to help power the facilities once the project is completed.
Microsoft continues momentum from 2025
Microsoft is finishing up its first data center in Mount Pleasant and is planning to break ground on a second data center this year.
The company is on track to be Racine County's largest taxpayer when it pays its bills in 2026, based on 2025 assessments.
Microsoft President Brad Smith is urging more transparency with data center and artificial intelligence developments in the technology sector in comments Smith made during a Jan. 13 visit to Milwaukee.
“I think we’re at a cultural pivot point because to bring people along, to get comfortable being more transparent, to be comfortable having conversations about questions to which we don’t yet know the answer – requires a different approach,” Smith said.
BizTimes was first to report about the Microsoft proposals.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
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