Overview
- Microsoft announced Tuesday that its first Mount Pleasant data center, branded Fairwater, is fully operational and has about 550 full‑time on‑site employees with more hiring underway.
- Work is already under way on an adjacent second facility with foundation, steel and utilities in progress and a scheduled completion targeted for 2028.
- Microsoft projects roughly $4.7 billion in hyperscale construction spending in Wisconsin from 2024 through 2028 and says it has bought goods and services from 29 businesses across 11 counties.
- Local officials and labor leaders praised the project for creating construction jobs and long‑term roles, with village leaders saying the campus will bring sustained economic activity to Racine County.
- The build is part of a wider Midwest surge in data centers to support AI demand and could face future scrutiny over energy and water use as Mount Pleasant has approved plans for up to 15 more Microsoft sites.