On Aug. 28, Tract, a developer of master-planned data center parks, announced its acquisition of a 2,069-acre parcel in Buckeye for $136 million. The company plans to transform the site into a $20 billion data center park by building up to 20 million square feet of data center space across as many as 40 individual data centers at full build-out, which would make it one of the largest data center parks in the U.S.
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“This project represents a major milestone for Buckeye. Through our collaboration with Tract, we’ve positioned Buckeye to host one of the largest data center technology parks in the country, driving substantial revenue and ensuring a thriving, sustainable future. By identifying land near the airport, we replaced an outdated planned community with a decades-long plan for economic growth,” says Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn in a press release. “Projects of this size require a well thought out, executable plan especially when analyzing the infrastructure needs of communities and we are pleased that this project reduces water demand, preserves natural spaces and creates hundreds of high-paying jobs.”
Finding a contiguous site this large is rare, especially private land, according to Anita Verma-Lallian, founder and CEO of Arizona Land Consulting. That’s why she bought the land in February of 2022.
“It’s considered a mega site for a user who needs that scale of land, and it’s one of the few parcels that size still out there,” Verma-Lallian continues. “That’s what was attractive to us and to Tract. If you’re looking closer to Phoenix, even 100 acres is hard to find. Going further out from [the urban core] there are more sites from 200 to 500 acres, but above that, they’re pretty scarce. Sites that size with infrastructure are even more rare.”
Originally, the land was slated to be a master-planned residential community called Cipriani, but when Verma-Lallian purchased the parcel, she started looking at other options for it.
“We realized there wasn’t the water to carry out the original development agreement, so we started to look at the parcel from an industrial view, and fortunately, the City of Buckeye was on board with that,” she says. “They’re expanding the [Buckeye Municipal Airport] that’s just about a mile east of [the site], so the city felt like it was a compatible use with what they’re planning on doing with the airport.”
Suzie Boyles, economic development director for the City of Buckeye, adds that the long-term vision for the Buckeye Municipal Airport is for it to be a major economic engine for not only the city, but for the whole region.
“Removing residential zoning from [that 2,069-acre parcel] and replacing it with light industrial and commercial uses further advances the development of the airport,” she continues. “Currently, our airport is 700 acres and is used for general aviation. The city is working on plans to expand general aviation and bring corporate jets but also looking at military and cargo operations. That means land uses around the airport need to be complimentary, because you don’t want a residential home on the end of a runway. That is one of the reason the city was supportive of this particular amendment.”
Not only does Tract’s plans for a data center park mesh well with the future growth of the Buckeye Municipal Airport, but it also reduces traffic and water demand when compared to using the land for a master-planned residential community. According to Boyles, Tract projects more than 360 jobs at full build out, which is a smaller number than a manufacturing facility from a job to land ratio, but she says the city sees these high-wage positions as being a benefit to the community.
“In addition, the developer is making some significant investments in infrastructure, such as regional water facilities,” Boyles says. “They’re also making investments in two public safety facilities and street infrastructure, namely the Johnson Road interchange. Those are a lot of the reasons we supported this change in land use.”
While Tract’s current plan is to build data centers on the parcel, Boyles notes that there are pockets within the 2,069 acres that are reserved for traditional commercial development.
“Tract does have the flexibility to build other industrial products within the site, along with some retail and other commercial,” she concludes. “I think this tech corridor shows that the Buckeye City Council is forward thinking, ensuring Buckeye remains a thriving and sustainable community.”
