Governor in Port to behold largest construction project in Wisconsin

Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday toured the largest construction site in the state — Vantage Data Centers’ Lighthouse Campus on Port Washington’s north side.

“It’s amazing, just amazing” Evers said after seeing the construction firsthand. “There are a lot of workers here doing extraordinary work.”

Evers said he knows that people in Port are concerned about projects like this, but said he believes local officials have done things right, ensuring the environment is protected and union workers are on the job.

Projects like this, he said, further the state’s goal of improving Wisconsin’s economy.

“My concern is always to make sure our economy is strong and the environment is in a good place. That’s certainly true here,” Evers said.

Vantage Vice President for Global Public Policy John Stephenson told Evers, “You and your team’s leadership are putting Wisconsin on the map with AI.”

When asked why they chose Wisconsin, Vantage officials cited the availability of power, land and skilled workers.

The climate is another factor, they said, noting the state’s temperate weather will help minimize the need to cool the facility.

Evers, accompanied by Port Mayor Ted Neitzke and Vantage officials, toured the $15 billion, 675-acre campus, where a legion of heavy equipment operators were working steadily in what seemed to be a choreographed dance to turn largely agricultural land into a flat building site where four large data center buildings will be constructed.

At the site of what’s known as the first building, a parade of trucks graded the site while next to them others compacted the dirt. Light colored earth east of them indicated where the soil had been stabilized in preparation for construction.

Nearby, a tall auger cast stood. It will be used to drill holes in the soil where rebar cages will be installed and piles installed to stabilize the foundation of the buildings.

Three of the buildings will be built concurrently, Edwin van Velzen, Vantage’s senior vice president for development delivery, North America, said. Construction of the fourth building will begin about four months after work on the first three start.

“That’s why we need such a huge space for logistics,” van Velzen said. “It’s almost like building a village.”

Like data centers in Europe, Van Velzen said, the Port data center campus will use a closed loop cooling system that will limit the amount of water needed.

“We don’t use evaporation,” he said, adding that the water used in the closed loop system is recycled. 

The fact Vantage will use a limited amount of water was one thing that Port officials like about the development, Neitzke said. 

Four general contractors are doing the work, one for each building, Ramon Perez, environment, safety and health manager, said.

The first deliveries of steel to the site will be made in late February, van Velzen said, noting the goal is to get all four buildings enclosed by winter of 2026, when work will move indoors.

That, he said, will help reduce the amount of construction noise and lighting next winter.

As the governor’s tour took place, a parade of dump trucks traveled along what used to be Highland Drive, taking loads of soil from the site and bringing in gravel and rocks.

Perez said 70 dump trucks are making continuous loops through the site, transporting soil to a dump site about 30 miles away, then returning to collect another load.

Some of that dirt will be returned to the site as the eight-foot berms required by the city around the site are constructed, but overall about 800,000 cubic yards of dirt will be removed from the site, Mark Freeman, vice president of global marketing, said.

About 300 workers were on site Tuesday, doing everything from excavating ground to building heavy machinery on the site.

Among the equipment being built are backhoes with 15 yard buckets, triple the capacity of a standard vehicle, Perez said. 

By May, van Velzen said, there will likely be about 2,000 workers on site. At its peak, officials have said, there will be roughly 4,000 people working there.

Crews are working around the clock on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  

Perez said crews aren’t moving earth at night, something intended to mitigate traffic and ensure a quieter operation.

Driving on site, you see large piles of soil and stone. There’s fencing — orange silt fence delineates where wetlands are and black for the remainder of the site, and blue fencing near the perimeter.

Perez pointed out areas where four to five large lunch areas will be created, each capable of serving between 800 and 1,200 workers.

A number of local restaurants are planning to bring food trucks to the site to feed  the workers, Neitzke said, adding they are among the local businesses benefiting from the construction.

“We’re spending a lot of money in local businesses,” Perez said. “It really stimulates the economy.”