Microsoft buys 600 acres in Iowa for potential data center campus

Microsoft bought 600 acres in Woodward, Iowa, for a potential data center campus, Data Center Dynamics reported, citing the Des Moines Register. The sale closed Oct. 8 and was disclosed to residents on Oct. 12.

The land sits between Highway 141 and Seminole Avenue, about 30 miles northwest of Des Moines in Dallas County.

Jackie Nickolaus, Microsoft's land development manager, said design work has not begun and the company does not know what mechanical systems will go into it. She estimated two to three years of campus design before construction starts, with the first building taking about two years after that. That sequence implies no Woodward building would be complete before roughly 2030.

Nickolaus said the campus is expected to serve cloud computing and data storage workloads, not AI training.

Another parcel in the Eco Business Park is offered at 59 acres for $62,400 per acre, which would value Microsoft's 600 acres at about $37.4 million, although Microsoft has not disclosed the purchase price.

Microsoft's property was rezoned from agricultural use to the Eco Business Park District in June 2026, when the council waived the ordinance's usual additional readings. At least 300 residents attended the Oct. 12 meeting, which was held after the council's regular session was canceled. The Register reported that Mayor Todd Folkerts told residents they would not get a vote on the project, that one resident shouted "You work for the people," and that one resident was removed from the meeting.

Microsoft has several projects around Des Moines. It bought 111 acres for Project Ruthenium in 2024, and local sites in various stages of development and operation include Project Ginger West, Project Ginger East, Project Mountain and Project Alluvion. Tract, another developer, acquired 282 acres in the area earlier this year.