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Data center campus · Southeast edge of Cheyenne, east of South Greeley Highway and south of the Sweetgrass subdivision, reached from Wapiti Trail, Laramie County, Wyoming

Microsoft southeast Cheyenne expansion

Approved as of July 13, 2026

Microsoft's planned 10-to-20-year data center expansion on nearly 3,460 acres of former ranch land at Cheyenne's southeast edge, annexed by the city in July 2026 and now the subject of a referendum petition and court challenges. Also known as: Highlands data center campus.

Cite← Wyoming data centers
Albany CountyBig Horn CountyCampbell CountyCarbon CountyConverse CountyCrook CountyFremont CountyGoshen CountyHot Springs CountyJohnson CountyLaramie CountyLincoln CountyNatrona CountyNiobrara CountyPark CountyPlatte CountySheridan CountySublette CountySweetwater CountyTeton CountyUinta CountyWashakie CountyWeston CountyMicrosoft southeast Cheyenne expansion · Approved
PowerNot statedNot reported in the records found
Site3,460acres

Who is behind it

ProjectMicrosoft southeast Cheyenne expansionAlso: Highlands data center campus
Developer and teamMicrosoft
End userMicrosoft

The record, newest first

  1. Cowboy State Daily reported two petitions filed in Laramie County District Court in September seeking to void the annexation and the council's Aug. 10 vote; the city declined comment on the litigation, and the mayor said signature counting was about 60% done. (Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 25, 2026)

  2. The council voted, with one member opposed, to seek a declaratory judgment on whether an annexation ordinance can go to referendum or must be challenged under W.S. 15-1-409; in a letter sent Aug. 14, Secretary of State Chuck Gray urged the city to let the referendum proceed. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Aug. 10, 2026; Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Aug. 17, 2026)

  3. The city received a referendum petition against the annexation ordinance; the clerk began a verification expected to take about 90 days, with about 2,700 valid signatures required. (City of Cheyenne, Aug. 11, 2026; Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Aug. 10, 2026)

  4. Cheyenne LEADS listed 'Microsoft - Highlands BP' among planned data centers in Laramie County. (Cheyenne LEADS, Aug. 4, 2026)

  5. Heatmap News reported that the annexed land had belonged to relatives of U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, held through Arp and Hammond Hardware, Old Horse Pasture Inc. and Lummis Livestock Company LLC. A Microsoft representative said the company acquired the land on June 26 and that the senator's political standing played no part in its decision; her office did not respond to Heatmap's request for comment. (Heatmap News, July 14, 2026)

  6. In a meeting that ran until nearly 2 a.m., the council passed the annexation of nearly 3,460 acres and two zoning ordinances on third reading, with three members opposed each time; the land's owners were listed as ARP and Hammond Hardware Co., Old Horse Pasture Inc. and Lummis Livestock Company LLC. Microsoft said build-out would take 10 to 20 years. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle, July 14, 2026; City of Cheyenne, Aug. 11, 2026)

  7. On second of three readings the council advanced the annexation and, 8-3, rejected an amendment that would have required a $50 million community benefits agreement. (Cowboy State Daily, June 23, 2026)

  8. At a public open house, Microsoft described the project as very early in the process; it had also applied for a 385-acre site east of College Drive that it said is near the 3,200-acre tract. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle, May 29, 2026; Cowboy State Daily, May 28, 2026)

  9. Microsoft said it intends to buy about 3,200 acres southeast of downtown Cheyenne: about 200 acres in Bison Business Park off Wapiti Trail and about 3,000 adjoining acres. (Microsoft Source, April 14, 2026; Cowboy State Daily, April 14, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Coordinates approximate, placed east of South Greeley Highway near Wapiti Trail per the reported description; parcels were not mapped.
  • Acreage: 3,200 acres announced (200 in Bison Business Park plus about 3,000 adjoining); the annexed tract is just under 3,460 acres (city, Tribune Eagle); Cowboy State Daily rounded to 3,500. How the 200-acre Bison parcel and the 385-acre College Drive application relate to the annexed total was not confirmed.
  • The name 'Highlands' appears in the Cheyenne LEADS August 2026 list ('Microsoft - Highlands BP') and in Cowboy State Daily (Sept. 2026); Microsoft has not used it in an opened source.
  • No MW figure has been released; Microsoft says energy use depends on a design not yet set. A 2.7 GW figure attributed to this campus in a Sept. 2026 Cowboy State Daily article was a petitioner's description and matches the Google campus's power figure; it is not used here.
  • Utility: Microsoft's April 2026 release describes the Black Hills Large Power Contract Service tariff; a Microsoft official told Cowboy State Daily a bring-your-own-power option was not ruled out.
  • If the referendum petition is certified, the ordinance would be suspended until repealed or put to voters; the city says that if the annexation were reversed the land would develop under county rules.
  • Lummis family land: reported by Heatmap News (July 2026). The reporting makes no allegation of wrongdoing; the sale price and what the family received have not been made public. SignalData has not reviewed the deeds.

The full record

Status note
The City Council annexed nearly 3,460 acres (Ordinance 4687) and rezoned them to business park on July 13, 2026; a referendum petition received Aug. 7 was still being verified in late September, the council is seeking a court ruling on whether annexations can be referred, and a resident's court petitions seek to void the annexation and the Aug. 10 vote.
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.