Data Center Construction in Wyoming

Cheyenne already hosts hyperscale data centers, and the next wave is bigger. Meta announced an $800 million, 715,000 square foot data center in south Cheyenne on July 2, 2024, on 960 acres of the High Plains Business Park along South Greeley Highway (US 85). The announcement projected more than 1,000 skilled trade jobs at peak construction. Microsoft's first Cheyenne data center sits north of the Walmart Distribution Center near I-80 and I-25, and the head of Cheyenne LEADS said data center companies have collectively put $3.1 billion into the city, a total counted from 2012.

Out west, Uinta County commissioners approved a 1.25 gigawatt data center on 506 acres of ranchland about 12 miles east of Evanston, reported in June 2026. The power is mostly natural gas. Construction was to begin within six months of final permitting and take four to five years.

We build the part of a data center that holds everything up: the site, the utilities, the shell, the support buildings and the yards. Our data center construction work and the buildings described under data center users follow the same plan. We price each one against the drive, the wind and the permit conditions on the actual parcel.

Two very different data center sites

The High Plains Business Park shows how a large site is opened up. Between April 2024 and December 2025, Cheyenne LEADS delivered two sanitary sewer mains, a water main, a new 4.5-mile road and a US Highway 85 traffic signal in seven bid packages. Those packages created 246 construction jobs, were 100 percent privately funded by Meta and opened another 2,800 acres to the south. The lesson for any owner is simple: the infrastructure is its own project, bid and built before the buildings.

Evanston is a different problem. The Prometheus Hyperscale project there carries an estimated $16 billion investment. A judge dismissed a legal challenge on August 17, 2026, the county permit carries about 30 conditions, and as of August 25, 2026 construction had not begun. Anyone building near Evanston should plan for permit conditions that shape the work, and for a start date that depends on final approvals. Near Cheyenne, the question is more often how fast the utility can deliver power.

Permit conditions and the power question

Laramie County, which surrounds Cheyenne, adopted the 2024 International Codes with amendments effective January 1, 2025. At the City of Cheyenne Building Code Board of Appeals meeting of February 5, 2025, the Chief Building Official reported that the 2018 Energy Code would remain in effect. That is how Wyoming works: the state adopts a code family, and each locality decides its own editions and amendments. We read what applies to the exact parcel before we price the building.

Power and fuel come next. A campus this size needs transmission interconnection, gas service, water and fiber, and each has its own approval path. The site utilities package trade partners build the on-site side: trenches, duct, water, sewer and gas, with testing and as-builts. We coordinate with the utility early, because a late transformer delays more than a late concrete truck.

A crew of a thousand, a schedule of quarters

The Meta project projected more than 1,000 skilled trade workers at peak. That headcount needs parking, shuttles, restrooms, lodging, a safety orientation line and a laydown area measured in acres. We lay out stabilized laydown yards before the first building pad, so deliveries have a place to land and mud does not stop a truck in March.

Long-lead equipment is the other schedule driver. Transformers, switchgear, generators, chillers and cooling towers can each carry lead times measured in many months. We lock procurement during preconstruction and track every item against the pour and set dates. When a delivery slips, we move work rather than let a crew stand.

Safety at campus scale

A data center site is a city of heavy equipment. Cranes, concrete trucks, steel crews, electrical crews and trade subs all share ground, and most of them arrive with their own plans. We run one site safety plan, one orientation and one traffic plan. On a corridor like US 85, that includes turn lanes, flaggers and a clear route for oversize loads.

Energization is its own safety event. When systems go live, access is controlled, tests are logged and only qualified people work near live gear. In winter, we add cold-weather protection and wind limits for crane lifts. The rule does not change: if conditions are wrong, the lift waits.

Support buildings, yards and security

The data hall is only part of the campus. Electrical rooms, generator yards, operations buildings, loading docks and storage all need to be built. Our data center support buildings service covers those, and many of them are simple, sturdy structures closer to flex and light industrial buildings than to the hall itself.

Perimeter security, gates, lighting and access roads follow. Owners usually want controlled access from the first day of construction, not the last. We build the fence line and the main gate early so the site is secure while the buildings rise behind it.

Wind, snow, water and the next phase

Large roofs and large cooling loads make weather matter. Laramie County lists a 105 mph wind design speed and a 32 lb/ft2 ground snow load in its design criteria. Evanston asks for a 40 psf minimum snow load. Shells built for that wind and snow are usually concrete or steel. A tilt-wall building is a common answer for the support structures, with hall design led by the owner's engineer.

Water and phasing complete the picture. Cooling choices drive water demand, so we confirm the supply early. Owners also build in halls, one after another, and each phase has to tie into the last without stopping the one that is running. We design the site, the underground and the yard so the next hall can be added without tearing up the last.

Send us the campus plan

Share the site, the megawatts and the phase plan. We will lay out the infrastructure, the laydown and the schedule that gets your first hall built.

Common Questions

Do you build the data hall itself or only the site and support buildings?

We build the site, the underground utilities, the shell and the support buildings, and we coordinate with the owner's engineer and the specialty trades who fit out the hall. Scope depends on the owner's delivery model. We say plainly where our work ends and where the next contractor starts.

How long can a data center take in Wyoming?

The Prometheus project near Evanston was described as taking four to five years of construction after final permitting. A single hall is shorter, but equipment lead times, power approvals and winter all set the pace. We build a schedule from the long-lead items backward.

What approvals decide whether a data center can start?

Local land use and building permits, utility interconnection and any conditions the county attaches. The Uinta County permit for the Evanston project carries about 30 conditions. We read every condition and turn it into a work plan item.

How do you house a thousand workers on a remote data center site?

We plan housing, parking, shuttles and orientation before mobilization. A site near a larger town may house crews in town, but a remote site may need a camp or a long daily drive. That choice affects both the safety plan and the daily productivity, and it goes in the budget.

Can a data center site handle Wyoming wind?

Yes, if it is designed for it. Laramie County lists a 105 mph wind design speed. Crane lifts and roof work stop in high wind, so we schedule around gusts and keep a wind log. Building envelope design follows the local criteria.