Walbridge Breaks Ground on Stargate Data Center Campus

Walbridge, OpenAI, Oracle, Related Digital and Blackstone marked the start of construction on the Stargate data center campus, also called The Barn, in Saline Township, Michigan, according to press releases from Oracle and Related Digital and reporting by Construction Dive and DataCenterDynamics. The development is described as a $16 billion project on a 250-acre site, designed for more than 1 gigawatt of capacity across three single-story buildings of about 550,000 square feet each, with the first building reported to be nearing completion. Oracle and Related Digital characterize it as the largest economic investment in Michigan history; reported financing combines equity from Related Digital, funds affiliated with Blackstone, and long-term debt anchored by PIMCO-managed funds.

Oracle's release and Construction Dive state the construction phase is expected to generate more than 2,500 union jobs, with roughly 700 tradespeople on site under a project labor agreement executed under the National Maintenance Agreement. The consortium committed $14 million in direct community investments, reported by DataCenterDynamics as $8 million for local fire services and $4 million for a farmland preservation fund, plus a separate $10 million commitment to expand the Saline Recreation Center.

For AI infrastructure, Stargate matters primarily as capacity expansion rather than a technology milestone. Large single-story footprints simplify power and cooling for high-density compute, and the financing mix - private equity, real-estate partners and long-duration debt - mirrors recent hyperscale campus structures. The involvement of OpenAI and Oracle alongside large capital partners signals continued demand for geographically distributed compute tied to foundation-model workloads.

Fortune reports that construction advanced after a local vote against an earlier version of the plan, and Tom's Hardware reports neighboring Michigan towns have since moved to restrict new data-center buildouts. Tom's Hardware also reports the campus is expected to draw roughly 1.4 gigawatts of electricity. Grid and energy arrangements, permitting and community response remain the central variables to watch, since large AI clusters materially affect local electricity demand.

• •Operational readiness of the first building and the overall construction timeline.
• •Power procurement, substation and transmission commitments, and any renewable or load-management arrangements.
• •Permitting and community engagement, including any legal or environmental challenges that could affect pace.