MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. — The Mount Pleasant Village Board unanimously approved site plans for two Microsoft developments that include 15 data centers.

Comments for and against the developments were delivered by residents and union workers during the Jan. 26 meeting.

Village President Dave DeGroot thanked the commentators for being civil but took exception to one speaker calling the jobs at the data centers temporary.

In addressing the union members present, DeGroot said, “It’s my understanding that you’re going to be out there on those sites for the next 10 years doing your job, applying your trade. And I don’t see anything temporary in 10 years.”

He also addressed concerns about data centers in general, and particularly in the village.

“We understand that you want us to go with caution, but I’d like to take you back to 2017 when we first put this TID together,” DeGroot said. “This tax increment district is the mother of all tax increment districts because of the opportunity at the time — Foxconn.”

In 2017, the Foxconn Technology Group, along with the help of the Wisconsin Legislature, came to Mount Pleasant to build a giant advanced manufacturing campus. However, after a few years, Foxconn amended its plans, and land was left vacant after the village and Foxconn bought out the previous property owners.

But in 2023, Microsoft stepped in to buy the land and build its first data center. The company announced in 2025 that it would add a second data center. In total, the company has committed at least $7.3 billion to the area.

Microsoft did not comment on the timeline for construction, but a spokesperson said, “Microsoft is excited to have completed the next step in our development process and look forward to sharing more about our specific expansion plans in Mount Pleasant as we go forward.”

Foxconn “didn’t turn out quite the way we thought it would,” DeGroot said, but added that the village’s vision at the time was for the area to become a technology park.

“We got laughed at for that,” he said. “‘Oh, come on. Technology? That goes to California. That goes to Texas. That goes to the East Coast. How on Earth do you think you’re going to bring it to Mount Pleasant? Well, we did.”

DeGroot said he understands that some residents might feel that the project is “out-scaled, and it is truly the largest project in the state of Wisconsin by a large factor.”

“It’s coming,” DeGroot said. “It’s coming in stages. And as I mentioned, it’ll be building for the next 10 years.”

Mount Pleasant resident Jack Nehmer commented on the project information presented during public meetings.

“I do not feel as if … the community (members), who voted you into offices, understand the true impact of this proposal,” he said. “It’s on a scale that no one was prepared for when we heard about Microsoft initially building a data center. One or two data centers, we can all live with that. Fifteen to 20? That’s significant.”

Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martino called for village officials to pause the project.

“The raw truth is the jobs are short term,” he said, “and (much) of the labor is not from Mount Pleasant, Racine County or even the state of Wisconsin. The money leaves Mount Pleasant on payday.”

Martino also criticized a tax increase that could come from the project until the TID is closed.

“While there’s an increase in the tax base, it will actually prove to hurt the people of Mount Pleasant for the next eight to 10 years,” he said. “If Mount Pleasant does become the richest community in Wisconsin, it will be on the backs of hardworking residents, not Microsoft.”

Years of public hearings on Foxconn led to this moment.

At the start of the meeting, Chris Smith, an attorney for Mount Pleasant, attempted to quell anxiety about the project.

“For anyone who says ‘When did we do this? We didn’t know about this. (The village) did it behind closed doors. We did it without telling the public.’ Nothing can be further from the truth,” Smith said. “This land was rezoned in 2017 to allow industrial uses. That includes data centers.”

Smith reminded attendees of public hearings and meetings in 2019, 2020 and 2023 held “to make it abundantly clear in our zoning code that data centers could be built on this land.”

“As far as Microsoft’s right to construct data centers on the land it owns, that is a property right and that’s not something the village can legally take away,” Smith said.

Racine County Executive Ralph Malicki spoke in support of the project.

“What we’re looking at here is a generational and regional opportunity like we’ve never seen before,” he said. “Not just talking about the taxes or the union jobs. What we’re talking about is Microsoft — a very, very reputable company, looking to partner with our entire area.

“They’re looking at being a great corporate resident … the ripple effect throughout our area, not just Mount Pleasant, not just Racine County, but the region will be incredible.”

Microsoft’s first data center in Mount Pleasant is being finished. Plans call for breaking ground on a second data center this year. The company is on track to be Racine County’s largest taxpayer when it pays its bills in 2026, based on 2025 assessments.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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