Microsoft has purchased a further 37 acres of land in Licking County, Ohio.

As reported by Columbus Business First, the land is located within Pataskala, and was acquired for around $6.65 million.

The acquisition brings Microsoft's land holdings in Licking County to more than 700 acres.

In November 2023, Microsoft reportedly acquired 289 acres on Refugee Road in Pataskala, later adding a further 40 acres in December 2024, though it did not confirm whether this was for a data center project at the time. The new land acquisition is also for parcels located on Refugee Road.

Microsoft previously paused its data center projects in the area. In April 2025, the company said that it was no longer moving forward with plans to invest $1 billion in three data center campuses in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron, Ohio. The company said that it would "continue to evaluate these sites in line with our investment strategy" and would revisit the project at some unspecified time in the future.

That unspecified time came earlier this year in March, when WCMH Columbus reported the cloud and tech giant had broken ground on the Heath and Hebron sites. Microsoft previously purchased 227 acres along Thornwood Drive in Heath, and 223 acres on High Street in Hebron.

According to Microsoft's project update pages, the Heath site in July 2026 saw construction work focusing on safety, water management, and site preparations for future buildings, while work on the substation was also set to begin.

The Hebron campus was at a similar stage of development in July, while the New Albany site was said to be nearing completion of the construction activities being undertaken by Ames Construction. The company said: "Limited construction activities may continue through the summer as remaining work is completed, and future development phases are planned. Microsoft will continue serving as the primary point of contact for community questions and updates moving forward."

All three campuses aim to be online by 2029.

Pataskala, meanwhile, sits between New Albany and Heath and Hebron. No data center project is listed for the city on Microsoft's website at present.