Data Center Construction in Cheyenne, Wyoming

More than 1,000 skilled trade jobs at peak construction is the figure attached to the 715,000 square foot data center Meta announced for south Cheyenne in July 2024, an $800 million project on 960 acres of the High Plains Business Park with an opening scheduled for 2027. Numbers like that change a local labor market. They also tell any owner planning a data center in this city what kind of competition for electricians, ironworkers, concrete crews and equipment operators to expect. We build data center shells and the site and utility packages around them, and we plan for labor, power and delivery as seriously as we plan for the building.

Data center owners in Cheyenne are not starting from scratch. Cheyenne LEADS says data center companies here have invested a combined $3.1 billion counting from 2012, and the I-80 corridor runs along an internet backbone that follows the Union Pacific right of way. The city's early Microsoft facility sits north of the Walmart distribution center near I-80 and I-25. That history means utility staff, inspectors and neighbors have all seen large facilities before, which helps a well-prepared project move through review.

The Cheyenne data center corridor is more than one park. The earliest facility was built about 20 years ago on a business park funded with a Wyoming Business Council matching grant, which a city study found returned $35.70 in tax revenue per public dollar. Other named investments include Lunavi, ANB Bank and EchoStar, and the mayor said two more data center companies were considering significant investment. On the research side, the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center at North Range totals 153,000 square feet with 24,000 square feet of raised floor and has been computing since October 2012.

The High Plains Business Park is the newest example. Cheyenne LEADS delivered two sanitary sewer mains, a water main, a 4.5 mile road and a traffic signal on US 85 in seven bid packages between April 2024 and December 2025, all paid for by Meta, and the work opened another 2,800 acres to the south for future development. A developer looking for a campus site should read that as evidence that the area can absorb large utility extensions.

A data center building is deceptively simple on the outside and complicated on the inside. The shell is often tilt-wall or insulated metal panel with heavy roof loads for mechanical equipment, a slab designed for rack and cooling loads, and a security envelope with controlled entrances. Inside are electrical rooms, battery or generator spaces, a mechanical plant and the data halls themselves. Each has a different structural, fire and acoustic requirement, and our estimates separate them so you can see where costs are.

Outside the building, the power chain defines the site. Substation or switchyard space, generator yards, fuel storage, cooling equipment pads and fiber entrances all take land and permits. Where operators plan closed-system cooling, as the High Plains project has described, the building uses little water and relies on air and mechanical systems, which shifts weight to the electrical and mechanical packages. For tilt-wall shells, the same methods we use on any tilt-wall building apply directly to the envelope.

Data centers are secure by design. Construction sites for them often need badging, background checks, controlled laydown areas and photography rules, and we plan the logistics accordingly. We keep deliveries and hot work on a schedule the owner can audit, and we protect installed equipment from dust, moisture and weather as it arrives.

Neighbors matter too. When Meta's project was announced, some neighbors raised noise and traffic concerns, and the company agreed to use no more water than a standard business with 100 employees. Those commitments signal what review boards and residents ask about. We prepare construction traffic plans, dust control and noise management for the site, and we advise owners to bring a clear water and noise story to public meetings from the first day.

Switchgear, transformers, generators and cooling equipment can take longer to arrive than the building takes to build, so the critical path often runs through procurement. We help owners release orders early, track them weekly and plan crane and rigging dates to match delivery. Meanwhile, we sequence civil work, foundations and the shell to be ready on time, since a finished building with no power is the most expensive kind of delay.

Labor is the other constraint. Large projects here have drawn on hundreds of workers at a time, and the Sentinel missile program at F.E. Warren is expected to bring a peak of 2,000 to 5,000 construction workers to the area starting around 2027. We plan crew sizes, shifts and subcontractor commitments with those competing demands in view, and we tell owners when the market is tight.

We start with preconstruction. Our preconstruction estimating work sets the budget by system, tests the site and tells the owner what the utilities will cost and when power can arrive. Early engagement allows value engineering on the shell and an honest look at phasing. Many operators build one hall first and add more as demand grows, and the structure and yard should allow that without disruption.

At the end of the job, commissioning is not a formality. Electrical, mechanical and fire systems are tested under load, and the owner's own team and vendors join us in integrated testing. Our commissioning and closeout process gives the operator a complete record of the building before racks go live. We can also build to data center construction standards for the owner's design team.

Not every digital infrastructure project is a hyperscale campus. Smaller edge and enterprise facilities can fit inside a flex or light industrial building with upgraded power and cooling. Public research and government computing, like the supercomputing center at North Range, is a distinct category, and our grasp of public sector procurement helps there.

Share your load, your site options and your target date. We will produce a budget by system, a procurement-led schedule and a list of the utility and approval questions to settle first.

How much land does a data center need compared with the building?

More than the building footprint suggests. Generator yards, electrical equipment, cooling pads, security zones, stormwater and a utility corridor can double the land requirement. The High Plains Business Park, where one project uses 960 acres, shows the scale at the top end, but smaller facilities need only a fraction. We test your program against a parcel before you commit.

Is there enough electricity in Cheyenne for another data center?

That is the question to ask first. The Chamber CEO expects electricity demand to rise about 50 percent over five years, and local reporting lists power supply and transmission among the challenges. A planned solar project near Cheyenne could supply the Meta facility. Ask the utility for a written statement on available capacity and timing before buying land.

Does a data center use a lot of water here?

It depends on the cooling design. Meta agreed to use no more water than a standard business with 100 employees and plans closed-system cooling. Evaporative designs use far more. We help owners choose a cooling approach that fits the local supply and the neighbors' expectations.

How long does a data center take to build in this market?

The building itself can move quickly, but equipment lead times usually control the date. Meta's announcement in July 2024 targeted a 2027 opening, and its site infrastructure alone took from April 2024 to December 2025. We build the schedule from power delivery backward and show owners where the real risks are.

Do you build to the owner's design or provide design-build?

Both. Some operators bring a standard prototype and want a builder who can adapt it to Wyoming's wind, snow and frost criteria. Others want one team to handle design and construction. Either way, we confirm local code requirements with the building department before the design is final.