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Data center project · Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

AIDEA Houston industrial and energy development district

Site zoned or marketed · DNR has proposed giving about 19,950 acres of state land near Houston to AIDEA at no cost for an industrial and energy district whose listed possible uses include 'scalable data centers'; AIDEA says no project or tenant exists. Also known as: ADL 234762, Houston land transfer.

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Status
Site zoned or marketed · as of July 2026
Location
State land north of Houston, northeast of the Parks Highway, with parcels in Houston, Meadow Lakes and Willow (coordinates approximate) · Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Status note
DNR's preliminary decision favors conveying the land to AIDEA; no final decision, no tenant and no data center proposal exist.
Land
19,950 acres
Developer and team
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)
End user
None identified
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.

Updates, newest first

  1. Oct. 14, 2026 The Senate Resources Committee voted to subpoena DNR Commissioner John Crowther; its chair said the no-cost transfer raises legislative appropriation concerns. DNR said he will appear Oct. 26. (Alaska Public Media, Oct. 15, 2026)
  2. Sept. 14, 2026 DNR's written comment period (opened July 10) closed; an environmental group counted more than 2,000 comments by late August, and DNR was still reviewing them in mid-October. (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water (Alaska Online Public Notices), Aug. 24, 2026; Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Aug. 25, 2026; Alaska Public Media (from KTNA), Oct. 19, 2026)
  3. Aug. 13, 2026 The Houston City Council voted unanimously to oppose DNR's transfer process. (Mat-Su Sentinel, Aug. 18, 2026)
  4. July 30, 2026 AIDEA's executive director wrote Mat-Su legislators that no project, data center tenant, power source or water plan exists and that data centers are only one possible use. (Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, July 30, 2026)
  5. July 2026 DNR issued a 41-page preliminary decision finding the conveyance in the state's best interest; reporting said AIDEA's plan lists a logistics hub, power and gas transmission, manufacturing pads and scalable data centers. (Alaska Public Media (from the Mat-Su Sentinel), July 15, 2026; Alaska Public Media, Oct. 15, 2026)
  6. Dec. 2025 AIDEA applied to DNR for the land, per reporting. (Alaska Public Media (from the Mat-Su Sentinel), July 15, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Reporting says AIDEA's executive director called a data center on the site 'implausible' at an October 2026 legislative hearing.
  • Acreage is about 19,950 acres in AIDEA's letter and 'nearly 20,000' or 30 square miles in reporting; AIDEA says exact boundaries await a survey.
  • The Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted in September 2026 to oppose the transfer, per reporting (resolution not opened).
  • Date of the Houston City Council vote differs by source: the Mat-Su Sentinel reported it from the council's Aug. 13, 2026 meeting, while Alaska Public Media (Oct. 19, 2026) dates it to July; the Sentinel's date is used.

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