Microsoft has bought 600 acres in Woodward, Iowa, about 30 miles northwest of Des Moines, for a potential data center campus. The sale closed on October 8 and was revealed on October 12 at a meeting with local residents, attended by at least 300 people. The land, between Highway 141 and Seminole Avenue, was rezoned from agricultural use to an Eco Business Park District in June 2026.
The company was explicit about how early this is. Its land development manager told residents that design work has not begun, that mechanical systems are undecided, and that design alone would take two to three years, with the first building taking about two more years to complete. She also said the campus is expected to serve cloud computing and data storage, not AI training, a distinction hyperscalers increasingly volunteer where AI power draw is the local concern.
The meeting was not smooth. Asked whether residents would get a vote on the project, the mayor said no, one resident was forcibly removed, and the exchange was reported by the Des Moines Register. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Woodward joins a cluster of Microsoft projects around Des Moines in various stages, alongside other developers assembling land in the area. The strategic pattern is land banking years ahead of need: at a two to three year design runway, the 600 acres are an option on early 2030s capacity, bought while the zoning path was open.