From January 2023 to July 2024, approximately 858 qualifying projects have been tracked along Interstate 80 by the Conway Projects Database.
I-80 is the second longest Interstate in the U.S. behind I-90, with presence in 11 states. Starting in San Francisco, California, and stretching 2,919 miles east to Teaneck, New Jersey, the corridor has become essential for logistics and distribution.
A breakdown of project investments by industry shows that while all major industries have made investments on or near I-80 during this time, it tends to cater to the needs of a few. Over the course of the past year the largest amount of activity came from the following:
While I-80 has been a staple for transporting a large quantity of goods it may very well be earning a new reputation as the literal information highway. In one year, data center investment in counties along the route has reached over $24 billion across 15 projects. Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Wyoming emerged as top locations for these new and expansion project investments, drawing in the likes of Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and more.
What is behind the surge of industry activity? It boils down to long-term preparation and positioning.
“A central geographic location combined with generally lower cost of power and taxes make the Midwest area an attractive option. There also is an abundance of fiber that follows I-80, which is helpful,” says CBRE Data Center Solutions Global Head Pat Lynch. “I-80 also generally provides access to a stronger and deeper labor pool naturally being located along the major cities in this area of the United States.”
An Emerging Market
In Northern Indiana, La Porte, Lake, Porter and St. Joseph counties all border I-80. Each county scored its own data center project, welcoming investment from Microsoft, Digital Crossroads and Amazon, respectively.
Industry growth in each of these counties can be attributed to not only their proximity to major U.S. markets, leading educational institutions and a skilled workforce base, but accessibility to robust utility infrastructure featuring a diverse portfolio of energy sources.
“The route’s attractiveness for data center investments is driven by several key factors,” says Indiana Economic Development Association Executive Director Matt Kavgian. “Beyond its favorable tax and regulatory climate and excellent connectivity, the route boasts abundant water resources necessary for cooling advanced AI hardware and high-performance networks. This connectivity is crucial for supporting the region’s expanding information-based economy and enhances its appeal to a wide range of businesses.”
Kavgian says northern Indiana communities are well-prepared to support the growth of the industry. Through proactive planning and infrastructure development with utility providers such as Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), the state has been anticipating demand needs by looking ahead 20 years, thus staying proactive with comprehensive integrated resource planning.
“This planning incorporates various scenarios, including potential growth from large customers like data centers, and is refined through simulations to guide infrastructure investments,” he says. “Recognizing the benefits of data centers, NIPSCO and county leaders understand these facilities diversify the customer base, thereby mitigating risks associated with fluctuations in other industries and enhancing overall stability.”
Amazon selected both Porter and St. Joseph counties for two new data centers. Following its initial announcement of a $87 million data center in Porter’s city of Portage, the company returned in April 2024 with billions more dollars on hand. The company announced that about 57 miles northeast, it would be constructing an $11 billion data center campus in St. Joseph, creating 1,000 new jobs.
Governor Eric Holcomb noted the move reflects the largest capital investment in the state to date. But it wasn’t the last billion-dollar project to be announced. Three months later, Microsoft announced the selection of 489 acres of the Radius Industrial Park in La Porte. The $1 billion investment is the company’s first in the state and will create 200 new jobs by 2032.
Such activity has not gone unnoticed. CBRE’s 2024 Global Data Center Trends report highlighted Northern Indiana as a new emerging market in North America. The report noted that, aside from power and site availability, tax incentives offered by the state will provide a significant pull for corporate investment moving forward.
“The I-80 corridor has benefited significantly from forward-thinking local and regional leadership, which has actively focused on site identification and development. This proactive approach has positioned the corridor as a prime location for diverse industries,” says Kavgian. “Additionally, the major transcontinental fiber line in the I-80 right-of-way and the Norfolk Southern right-of-way gives all the communities and companies along the corridor vital access to high-speed data networks.”
Data’s Popular Destination
It’s no surprise Illinois has seen a lot of new industry activity along its portion of the I-80 corridor. Cook County, home to the city of Chicago, drew in eight of the 15 data center projects.
The city has been a sought-out region for data center investment for years, currently housing 136 centers, according to data collected by Data Center Map. According to CBRE’s report, it might be harder to score a spot in Chicago moving forward. The city has hit a record-low vacancy rate at 1.9% as demand soars from users. This has pushed developers just outside Chicago to Elk Grove, Northlake, Wood Dale, Hoffman Estates and Itasca to construct these massive sites.
Elk Grove and Hoffman Estates stood out for the latest project investments for Stream Data Centers, Compass Datacenters and Aligned Data Centers, who brought in over $11.2 billion. Both Stream Data Centers and Aligned Data Centers are planning third locations in the region.
Compass Datacenters was joined by the Village of Hoffman Estates and ComEd in June 2024 to mark the beginning of construction of a $10 billion data center campus. The site will house five hyperscale data centers across 200 acres of the former Sears HQ. Once complete, Compass will look to add 1,000 new jobs in the community.
“The Midwest has become a strong market of interest for all developers and end users alike due to its unique path to large-scale, cost-effective, renewable utility power with a delivery timeline faster than most of the U.S.,” says CBRE First Vice President Mikey Jaillet. “This, coupled with strong data center incentives, an abundance of scalable data center land as well as an overall lower total cost of ownership compared to other large data center markets, has created a compelling business case for data center development across the Midwest.”
Potential Opportunity
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Davenport, Iowa, were both selected for individual $800 million data center projects by Meta.
The company first announced its arrival in Davenport in May 2024. Meta has plans for two data center facilities totaling 715,000 sq. ft., although it is unclear when construction will commence on the 328-acre site. This will be the company’s second location in the state, about 158 miles east of its $2.5 billion Altoona data center just outside of Des Moines.
Iowa hosts more than a dozen data centers from leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and more.
“Iowa, specifically Des Moines and Council Bluffs, already house a few large-scale hyperscale facilities,” says CBRE’s Pat Lynch. “Wyoming also has a large-scale occupant in the Cheyenne area with another hyperscaler recently acquiring land for another data center campus. These markets have a few colocation providers with the potential for more.
Most Wyoming projects are concentrated in Cheyenne, a region bisected by I-80. Meta’s $800 million data center in the city joins Critical Systems Realty, Lunavi, Microsoft, and Mountain West Technology networks.
“We are thrilled to make Cheyenne our new home and committed to playing a positive role here and investing in the community’s long-term vitality,” said Meta Data Center Community and Economic Development Director Brad Davis. “Wyoming stood out as an outstanding location for our newest data center thanks to its great access to infrastructure and energy, deep pool of talent and amazing community partners.”
The planned 715,000-sq.-ft. facility will be located on 960 acres of the High Plains Business Park. Meta has said it anticipates the data center will begin operations in 2027, creating 100 new jobs.
“We don’t see [Iowa or Wyoming] becoming a “top” market like a DFW, NOVA, Phoenix, Chicago, etc., but as long as they can provide power with some level of sustainable source they will continue to see demand grow,” say Lynch. “These markets will continue to see interest for larger-scale deployments [200 acres and 300 MWs and up] due to their lower cost of power, incentive programs and overall lower cost of TCO compared to other areas around the country.”
