Jun 18, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
Microsoft has broken ground on a new data center campus in La Porte, Indiana. Brad Smith, Microsoft vice chair and president, announced in a LinkedIn post that the groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 17.
Smith wrote: "Today we broke ground in La Porte, Indiana, alongside Mayor Tom Dermody, local leaders, and community members who made this possible. This marks more than the start of a new data center. It represents the future of this community and our commitment to being a good neighbor.
"Beyond the thousands of construction jobs, our first phase will create more than 600 permanent Microsoft jobs. It will grow local tax revenues to support schools and the broader community for generations. Our campus will be designed with the latest energy-efficient, closed-loop liquid-cooling technologies to conserve natural resources. And we will enhance the surrounding ecosystem to strengthen flood protection and natural habitat."
Site preparation for Microsoft’s La Porte data center campus began in March, with Buildings 1–3 scheduled for completion by the end of 2027 and full completion expected in 2029. The project, first announced in 2024 as part of a $1 billion investment in Northwest Indiana, originally included six data centers and a substation at Radius Industrial Park. Microsoft later expanded plans in 2026 to 17 buildings across a larger site, though the number of data centers remains unclear.
