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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.
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