Far-north Fort Worth is about to get a very different kind of neighbor. City officials have signed off on preliminary grading for a proposed $2.1 billion data-center campus on 107 acres near Saginaw Boulevard and Hicks Field Road, the first visible move on a multi-building complex that developers say will roll out in two phases over the next decade.
The early green light lets crews start modest earthwork while the larger plan is still under the microscope. As reported by the Fort Worth Star‑Telegram, the council approved an initial grading permit for ACS Group even as a comprehensive grading permit remains under review. The outlet noted ACS could not be reached for comment and previously sought a performance-based economic development agreement with the city.
Project Specs And Slow-Burn Timeline
According to project registration on file with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the first phase centers on a two-story, 251,303-square-foot building. Plans call for about 14,993 square feet of administrative space and two data halls of roughly 25,075 square feet each. The filing lists January 26, 2026, as the construction start date and June 26, 2027, as the completion date for that initial building, matching the developer’s phased rollout schedule.
City economic presentations and council records show the full buildout is expected in two phases stretching through 2034. Over a ten-year span, city staff project the campus will bring in about $57.9 million in new tax revenue even after incentive payments, according to the Houston Chronicle. Those numbers helped sell the deal to local leaders, even as some at City Hall and in nearby neighborhoods asked whether the long game pencils out.
Big Incentives, Not-So-Big Headcount
Under the economic development agreement approved last spring, ACS is set up for a series of stepped rebates on incremental business personal property. The rebates start at 35 percent after phase one and can climb to as much as 70 percent after phase two, but only if the company hits required construction and equipment benchmarks. The package obligates ACS to invest about $481.6 million in real property and nearly $1.7 billion in business personal property, while committing to roughly 37 full-time jobs with an average annual salary target, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
ACS has told city staff it plans to use a closed-loop water-cooling system in an effort to keep water use in check. Utility plans call for a privately owned substation next to the campus that will tie into Oncor’s grid. Multiple parcels along Hicks Field Road are wrapped into the project site, and Oncor is planning a nearby substation for the growing corridor, according to the Fort Worth Report.
What Neighbors Are Weighing
People living nearby are expected to keep a close eye on the tradeoffs. Data centers are heavy hitters on power demand and can lean on local water and infrastructure during both construction and operations. At the same time, the permanent payroll here looks relatively lean compared with the size of the tax breaks. Supporters argue the incentives will be repaid through construction activity and expensive equipment purchases, while critics highlight the modest number of long-term jobs at stake, as noted by The Real Deal.
For now, the visible dirt work is more teaser than full rollout. Public permitting records show the preliminary grading application in plan review and a comprehensive grading permit still required before major construction can start in earnest. The project is listed as in plan review on city and third-party trackers, which means ACS still has to clear multiple regulatory and performance checkpoints before any incentive money or full-scale building actually lands, according to public permitting aggregators like public project trackers.
