Microsoft confirms data center plans in Kent County
Posted By: mlive on December 15, 2025. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
After more than a year of speculation, Microsoft has confirmed it plans to build a data center in Kent County. The tech giant recently submitted a request for rezoning for a property at 7174 Patterson Ave. in Gaines Township, a Grand Rapids suburb. The township’s planning commission is set to host a public hearing on the request on Thursday, Dec. 18, according to the meeting agenda.
Microsoft in October 2024 purchased 316 acres on the northwest corner of Patterson Avenue and 76th Street from office furniture manufacturer Steelcase for $45.3 million. The company at the time said the purchase was part of its “ongoing search for development opportunities in the Michigan market.”
The upcoming planning commission meeting focuses on a 40.5-acre parcel that was part of the 2024 purchase.
Microsoft is requesting to have it rezoned from large-scale planned unit development to light industrial, which will match the zoning of a light industrial parcel directly south of the property. The two parcels will be used together to support a data center, according to planning commission documents.
In an email to MLive/The Grand Rapids Press, Microsoft said it does not yet have formal plans for the data center.
“Project plans including construction timelines are yet to be finalized,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. “We continue to work with our local partners and are committed to sharing information when we have it.”
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