Data Center View - July 8, 2025 - Ardent proposes $1B campus in Montana

Good morning. This is Data Center View, and we are in on the joke.

→ We are here to serve the owners, brokers, and users who are interested in data center real estate. Do us a favor, and forward this email to your favorite data center pro. They can sign up here.

Now, let’s get to it.

NEWS ROUNDUP

DEVELOPMENT: Ardent proposes $1.5 billion hyperscale campus in Montana. A massive new data center project is in the works for Great Falls, Montana, as Ardent TAC Data Centers has unveiled plans for a 2 million-square-foot hyperscale campus on a 569-acre site just east of the city. The $1 billion to $1.5 billion investment—dubbed Project Cardinal—would be one of the largest developments of its kind in the region and a major step toward economic diversification.

DEVELOPMENT: Pima County approves $3.6 billion data center project. The Pima County Board of Supervisors has officially approved Project Blue, a transformative $3.6 billion data center campus slated for the county’s Southeast Employment and Logistics Center (SELC) near the Pima County Fairgrounds. The approval includes amending the comprehensive plan and rezoning 290.3 acres to accommodate the development. Once complete, Project Blue is expected to generate $63.5 million in annual economic impact and bring 180 full-time jobs with an average salary of $64,000 by 2029. The project will also support over 3,000 direct construction jobs and 2,000+ indirect jobs during its buildout, with $1.2 billion in construction costs projected.

DEVELOPMENT: Cologix breaks ground on $1 billion data center in Central Ohio. Cologix has officially started construction on COL5, a $1 billion AI-focused data center campus in Lewis Center, Ohio, expanding its footprint in what is now the company’s largest U.S. market. Situated on 28 acres at Green Meadows Drive and Home Road, COL5 will eventually deliver 120 megawatts of capacity and cater specifically to AI workloads, which demand significantly higher power and cooling infrastructure than traditional data center use. The first phase (135,000 SF) is expected to be completed by fall 2026, with a second building of equal or larger size to follow. COL5 will become Cologix’s fifth facility in the Columbus region, joining four others that already total 500,000 square feet and 80 MW of capacity, making the Denver-based firm the largest colocation provider in Central Ohio. “When we built COL4, it was full before we opened the doors. I suspect COL5 will be the same,” said Nancy Tiemeier, Cologix’s Central Ohio Account Director.

DEVELOPMENT: Grindcap to transform Atlanta-area cell tower site into 108MW data center. Grindcap, an Atlanta-based real estate development firm, has secured unanimous approval from the Marietta City Council to rezone a 31-acre site for a large-scale data center campus. Currently home to a cell tower and five billboards, the site will be converted into two two-story data center buildings, totaling 347,200 square feet and delivering 108MW of power (72MW for DC-1 and 36MW for DC-2). The project also includes plans for an on-site substation and a relocated cell tower.

ENERGY: Microsoft secures hydropower for upcoming 288MW data center in Washington. Microsoft has locked in a major energy deal to power its planned data center campus in Malaga, Washington, marking a significant milestone for the project first unveiled in 2022. The Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD) approved a large-load energy contract with Microsoft. Under the agreement, Microsoft will receive up to 288 megawatts of power over 15 years—extendable for an additional five—sourced primarily from Washington's hydropower-dominant grid. “Chelan PUD has a long history of managing local hydropower in the best interest of customer-owners,” said GM Kirk Hudson. “We’re continuing that legacy by preserving what’s most important—reliability and low rates.”

READ: 2025 mid-year data center report.

DATA CENTER PROPERTY FOR SALE 

Click on each photo for more information.

2 Sites | 74 Acres & 133 Acres | Two 345 kV Lines & Two 138 kV Lines Running Close By | Local and State Tax Incentives

2 Sites | Site 1: 28 Acres, Designed to Support 496MW Natural Gas Solution | Site 2: 590 Acres, 100 Acres Can Be Developed As Data Center | Site 3: 70 Acres, Designed to Support 1GW Natural Gas Solutions

ONE MORE THING

→Try our resources for data center pros:

Search Properties | Data Center Real Estate News | Comps | Professional Network | Advertise Listings | Share a Closing Announcement