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Another <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Midwest megaproject is in the pipeline<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, as Chicago-based Walsh Construction began work on a $1 billion Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Business Journal <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>reported on Aug. 27<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Earthwork and excavation on the site has started, the Business Journal reported, which will set the stage for foundation work to begin this fall. The project will partially fill a 2,500-acre plot of land set aside<\/a> for a $10 billion U.S. hub for Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn. Those plans never materialized.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The data center grounds cover 215 acres in Mount Pleasant, and is a segment of the 300 acres that Microsoft purchased from local authorities under its construction agreement, the Business Journal reported. A <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>project overview on Microsoft\u2019s website<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> shows that the tech giant believes work will be complete by fall 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft has divided the campus into two parts, per its project overview, with the southern half of the site the company\u2019s current focus. The northern half will be a construction laydown area and space for future data center development.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The project will also create thousands of construction jobs, according to the Business Journal, which Laura Million, deputy director of the Racine County Economic Development Corp., lauded as a boon for the area. Million told the Business Journal that the data center would have a \u201csignificant impact locally\u201d on construction employment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s data center project has <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>been in the works since March<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n