Microsoft has paused construction on parts of its $3.3 billion data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

The company has permission to develop up to 1,000 acres of land in the village, but said that while it is pressing ahead with the first phase of the plan, it is reviewing the rest of its build-out.

Microsoft explains Wisconsin construction pause

In a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio, which first reported the news, Microsoft said: “We have paused early construction work for this second phase while we evaluate scope and recent changes in technology and consider how this might impact the design of our facilities."

The statement said that the company plans to meet with state officials once it has conducted its evaluation.

Mount Pleasant Microsoft site
Microsoft is developing land in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin – Google Maps

“We anticipate that this process will last months,” the statement said. “In the meantime, our commitment to and construction of our planned data center campus continues with high priority for our business.”

Microsoft had previously said it would invest $3.3 billion in Wisconsin by 2026, and the company told WPR it is on track to honor that commitment.

DCD reported in December that Microsoft planned to incorporate a closed-loop zero-water evaporation cooling system in its Mount Pleasant data center, as well as at a site in Phoenix, Arizona, and it is possible the pause relates to efforts to install this technology. DCD has approached Microsoft for comment on the report.

'No reason to believe' scope of project is changing

The data center campus will span three separate sites in Mount Pleasant, and according to WPR, construction work is continuing on a 215-acre land parcel on 90th Street. This is expected to finish this year.

But work on a 115-acre development to the west of this site, and a 791-acre plot on Durand Avenue, has halted.

Microsoft broke ground at 90th Street in 2023. It originally planned to develop 315 acres of land in Mount Pleasant previously set aside for a Foxconn manufacturing hub.

The cloud company gained approval for another 1,000-acre expansion earlier this year. Since then, it has been busy buying up the land it needs to make this happen, including a 160-acre parcel it acquired for $43 million in August.

Sean Ryan, a spokesperson for the village of Mount Pleasant, told WPR that officials “have no reason to believe” that the “overall scope or nature” of the project is changing.

Ryan said: “We appreciate Microsoft being transparent with village leaders about the construction timeline for its Mount Pleasant data centers.”