Microsoft buys more land near Racine County data center development. Totals $27 million

From JSOnline:

Tom Daykin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Microsoft's data center is under construction near County Highway KR and 90th Street in Mount Pleasant.  Karl Ebert/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Microsoft Corp. has spent $27.2 million buying more land near its $3.3 billion data center development in Racine County.

The software developer has purchased 69 acres along Louis Sorenson Road, in Mount Pleasant, for $12.4 million, according to Wisconsin Department of Revenue property records. The seller was Audrey L. Schaefer Family LLC.

Also, Microsoft has purchased a 10-acre tract on that same road for $800,000, according to those land records. The seller was John A. Holmes.

Finally, the company bought a combined 64 acres, from an affiliate of Robert Funk Farms Inc. and a trust linked to Bruce Funk and Vicki Funk, for $14.04 million.

Those purchases come after Microsoft in May bought 32.1 acres at 12721 Louis Sorenson Road for $8.8 million. The seller was an affiliate of development firm Wangard Partners Inc.

A company representative couldn't be immediately reached Friday for information about Microsoft's plans for the land.

The company in December bought just over 1,000 acres of nearby farm land that's being developed for data centers. The three transactions totaled nearly $176 million.

The company paid the Village of Mount Pleasant $63.2 million for 400 acres on Braun Road and Durand Avenue. Also, Microsoft paid the village $36.5 million for 241 acres on County Highway H.

Finally, the company bought 407 acres on Braun Road and Durand Avenue from Creuziger Farms Inc. for $76 million, according to state land records.

Microsoft says it will spend $3.3 billion by 2026 to build the initial phase of its data center development.

But that's merely the architecture for success, Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May.

Equally important, Smith said, is an investment in training that is expected to help more than 100,000 workers learn cutting-edge AI-related skills, STEM programming for middle school students, summer job opportunities for high school students and tools for business leaders to learn how to most successfully tap the power of artificial intelligence in their operations.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2024/07/29/microsoft-buys-more-land-near-milwaukee-area-data-center-development/74557810007/