A mammoth $14 billion data center initiative is on the drawing board in metro Phoenix, unfurling across 1,000 acres with a fleet of nearly 30 buildings. This tech bonanza, tabbed Project Range, is helmed by Denver firm Tract, a fresh face in the data center realm ready to make its mark in Arizona. The blueprint reveals a twin-campus layout strewn between Yuma Road, Jackrabbit Trail, and Perryville Road, as reported by the Business Journal.
The sprawling project is estimated to encompass a staggering 5.6 million square feet of digital infrastructure, planting its flag as one of the largest of its kind by acreage in the Valley. The expansive complex banks on support from three Arizona Public Service substations, as outlined in documents submitted to Maricopa County. According to ABC15, the buildings are touted to span sizes from 149,000 to 260,000 square feet a piece. Tract's behemoth endeavor aims to not only bolster the tech industry but to also inject a steady stream of tax revenue and jobs into the local economy.
In the realm of job creation, Tract is gearing up to hire up to 300 employees, dangling salaries ranging from a solid $80,000 for entry-level technicians to a hefty $150,000 to $250,000 for seasoned HVAC pros, electricians, and engineers. With Maricopa County's data center vacancy languishing at a scant 2.2%, this project couldn't be better timed to meet the tech sector's soaring appetites for more capacity. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are setting up shop in Phoenix, lured in by its sweet spot of competitive electricity tariffs and reassuring absence of natural catastrophes, as spotlighted by the Business Journal research.
Yet, to lay to rest the concerns from neighboring cities and residents, Tract went back to the drawing board to notably redesign with lower building heights, now capped at 60 feet, and pulled back setbacks to a generous 500 feet. Graham Williams, Tract's chief investment officer, revealed in a March 18 email that early community engagement steered them to "an improved application with significant setbacks, lower building heights and community uses for some portions of the site," as obtained by the Business Journal. Despite the revisions, the project's scale remains ambitious with the total buildout stretching over an estimated 15 to 18 years.
Water resource management has also been a focal point for Tract, as they plan to harness a chunk of their 4,000 acre-feet of grandfathered groundwater rights. The full-throttle operation at buildout could gulp down between 570,000 to 1.2 million gallons per day for cooling alone. However, Tract is exploring the adoption of misting water tech and closed-loop systems to keep the thirst of Project Range in check. All this comes amidst terrains where the Phoenix market dominates as the second-largest data center hub in the U.S., and where demand is surging for infrastructures that can ably prop up the ever-evolving landscape of high-tech computations and storage, according to ABC15.
