Alcoa to sell Massena smelter site to data center developer for up to $315m

Alcoa has agreed to sell portions of its closed Massena East aluminum smelter in upstate New York to an unnamed data center developer for up to $315 million. Closing is expected within the next six months. Alcoa disclosed the definitive agreements alongside its third-quarter 2026 results, and Data Center Dynamics reported the sale on Oct. 19.

Alcoa expects $50 million to $65 million at closing, depending on how much data center capacity is approved. The company expects $60 million to $250 million more as approved capacity is expanded and commissioned over the seven years after closing. Most of the second tranche is expected in the first five years. The two pieces add up to the $315 million ceiling, which puts the upfront cash at roughly 16% to 21% of the headline price.

CFO Molly Beerman said on the earnings call that the site is initially permitted for 180MW and could reach 635MW in phases. The 1,600-acre property on the St. Lawrence River was built in 1958 as a Reynolds Metals facility, taken over by Alcoa in 2000 and shut as a smelter in 2014, which Alcoa attributed to high energy costs and lower-cost overseas producers.

Alcoa did not name the buyer. Data Center Dynamics notes that NYDIG, which it describes as a bitcoin mining firm, has previously been linked to the site, and BizJournal reported that North Country Colocation Services, a NYDIG affiliate, will develop it. Plans filed with the town of Massena planning board describe an 88-acre project at 182 and 194 County Road 45, the former Alcoa East/Reynolds Campus, with up to 635MW across two buildings and 870,000 square feet for “modern computing operations.” That capacity figure matches the ceiling Beerman gave for the smelter site.

CEO Bill Oplinger said the agreement “represents meaningful progress against our asset monetization strategy,” and described a structure that pays Alcoa as the campus is first built and then enlarged. Alcoa has been seeking buyers for ten former smelter sites around the US, targeting data center firms, according to Data Center Dynamics.

Reports this month of a statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers did not state whether the order affects the Massena project.