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AI Data Center Ghost Towns: Beyond Elk Grove – The Next Buyouts to Watch

AI Data Center Ghost Towns: Beyond Elk Grove – The Next Buyouts to Watch

AI megaprojects are transforming neighborhoods across the U.S., often creating buyouts, controversy, stalled construction, and struggling communities left in limbo. After the now-infamous Elk Grove wipeout outside Chicago, several new regions are facing similar turbulence — from canceled data centers to neighborhoods fighting displacement.

1. Mount Pleasant & Caledonia, Wisconsin: Microsoft’s Scrapped Ag Land Grab

Rural Wisconsin towns like Caledonia became targets for massive AI data centers thanks to cheap land and incentives. A 244-acre farm targeted for Microsoft’s next buildout met heavy backlash over water consumption, wetland destruction, and minimal job creation. Public meetings overwhelmingly opposed rezoning, and Microsoft withdrew before the vote — leaving purchased parcels unused and transforming the area into potential “ghost zones.”

2. Taylor, Texas: Blueprint’s Threat to Historic Black Neighborhood & Parkland

In Taylor, Blueprint Data Centers purchased 87 acres of city-owned parkland — land originally deeded for green space. The buildout borders a historic Black neighborhood dating back to segregation-era redlining. Community members filed lawsuits to halt construction, arguing threats to cultural heritage and misuse of public land. Though a judge dismissed the suit, the site sits partially cleared as appeals move forward, creating uncertainty and the possibility of future buyouts.

3. Hillsboro, Oregon: Microsoft’s Canceled Leases & Half-Built Wastelands

Hillsboro, long a magnet for high-tech expansion, saw Microsoft lease land for major AI campuses in 2023. After engineering prep and acquisition of surrounding homes, Microsoft pulled back in early 2025 — canceling over 200MW of U.S. data center leases. Several partially built structures now sit idle, and local infrastructure upgrades were halted midstream, echoing concerns of overbuilding and creating industrial blight.

4. Elyria Swansea, Denver, Colorado: Encroachment on a Polluted Neighborhood

CoreSite’s planned $1.2B AI data center is rising inside one of Denver’s most polluted neighborhoods. The facility could use more power than the Denver International Airport and enough water for 16,000 residents. Locals worry about worsening air quality, generator emissions, and displacement as eminent domain discussions surface. Toxic soil findings have already delayed portions of construction.

Across the country, the AI infrastructure boom is colliding with environmental concerns, community resistance, and market cooling — leaving behind uncertain landscapes that may become the next generation of digital-era ghost towns.

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