QTS Data Centers is looking to build another facility near Madison, Wisconsin.

Yesterday, the Village of DeForest, located north of Madison, posted a statement saying that QTS had approached it and inquired about the possibility of annexing lands for a proposed data center development.

The village also stated, however, that QTS had not yet filed a petition for annexation, nor an application for land use approval.

QTS is also currently seeking approval for a data center in the nearby town of Vienna, which is located just west of DeForest. The company’s attempts to annex 1,400 acres of land for a facility in that town have been met with fierce opposition from residents.

Locals were especially irked last week when a town meeting set to discuss the project was abruptly canceled by local officials, as just a day before the meeting, QTS shared a new version of a cooperation agreement which was meant to be discussed.

It is also common for data center operators to scout out alternative sites for a variety of regulatory and strategic reasons.

The village pre-emptively added that it is “aware of a proposal for a cooperation agreement between QTS and the Town of Vienna,” but that DeForest is “not party to that agreement, nor has the village taken any part in the negotiation of that contract.”

Founded in 2003 and owned by Blackstone since 2021, QTS has dozens of data centers in operation and development across the US, UK, Netherlands, and Spain.

The company has been expanding its portfolio lately. Last week, QTS topped out a facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; early this month, it began site preparation for a site in Northumberland, UK; and in August, it announced plans for a data center in Forssa, Finland.

Wisconsin doesn’t have a huge data center market, but the likes of Microsoft, Meta, and Vantage are developing in the Badger State. Ark (formerly Involta), TierPoint, 1547 CSR, and Expedient are also present in the state.