A new data center is being proposed in Williston, North Dakota.
Citizen Portal reports that Critical Data House has submitted plans for a new 300-acre campus in the Williams County city, known as Project Fighting Pike.
According to city documents, the campus would total seven 65MW buildings, ranging from 275,000 sq ft to 500,000 sq ft (25,550-.46,450 sqm). The facilities will use a closed-loop cooling system with direct-to-chip liquid cooling.
Construction on the site, located on the corner of 56th Street NW and US Highway 2, is set to run from Q2 2025 to Q4 2027. Two buildings are planned for the first phase of development, with full build-out expected over three phases and ten years.
CDH could reportedly invest as much as $5 billion in the project, with another potential $5bn to be spent on the IT hardware.
News that CDH could be interested in developing in Williston first surfaced in November. The site was previously earmarked as a community development known as the Northstar Center that would have included single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, recreation areas, retail centers, office parks, industrial zones, and a sports complex. Up to 2,000 homes were planned but never developed.
A Chris Hardin is listed as CEO of Critical Data House. A Chris Hardin is the owner of data center consulting firm CDH Consulting, though it's unclear if they are the same person.
Another Williston document links Hardin to Intermountain IG, a firm developing fiber routes across the US.
