Microsoft spent $32.3 million on 340 acres in Boone County for a new data center site but has effectively hit pause on development.
The company already secured a special use permit for light industrial use, clearing a key zoning hurdle for future data halls and supporting power infrastructure.
The stall signals that even hyperscalers are prioritizing where to deploy GPUs and power first, instead of pushing all approved greenfield builds forward.
Local grid readiness, transmission costs, and Microsoft’s broader AI buildout cadence are likely driving this slowdown more than permitting or land constraints.
For AI infrastructure planners, this is another data point that capital is shifting toward the most power-dense, near-term GPU-ready campuses over speculative sites.
I’d watch this location over the next 12–24 months as a bellwether for how Microsoft sequences second-tier data center markets in its AI roadmap.
Source: Despite investments, Microsoft has slowed its plans for Cherry Valley
