SALINE, Mich. - The developers of the Stargate project, a major national effort to build powerful computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence, have announced plans for a large new data center in Saline Township, Michigan. The facility will be part of a 4.5-gigawatt expansion plan with Oracle, connecting Michigan's economy to a growing network that includes a similar project in Lordstown, Ohio.

The multi-billion-dollar investment in Saline Township, near Ann Arbor, is a partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and the developer Related Digital. It will become one of the most advanced computing campuses in the country, adding over a gigawatt of capacity to the Stargate network.

The facility, which has been nicknamed “The Barn” because a historic red barn will be preserved at the entrance to the site, will sit on 250 acres. The project is expected to create more than 2,500 union construction jobs during its building phase.

Once operating, the campus will add more than 450 jobs on site and a projected 1,500 jobs county-wide to support the new facility.

Peter Hoeschele, OpenAI’s vice president of industrial compute, said the project helps ensure that Michigan plays a key part in building the national infrastructure needed for the next generation of American innovation.

"This historic, multi-billion-dollar investment will ensure that Michigan plays a leading role in developing the digital infrastructure American companies need," said Jeff T. Blau, chairman of Related Digital.

The Stargate platform, a long-term vision to develop powerful AI infrastructure, is expanding rapidly across the United States. The Michigan announcement follows a previous Stargate expansion plan revealed in September, which included the development of an AI data center site in Lordstown.

The Lordstown project is a separate partnership between OpenAI and SoftBank. That facility, which is also large-scale, broke ground recently and is expected to become operational next year. Both the Michigan and Ohio projects underscore a concentrated effort by technology companies to build their large computing centers in the Midwest.

The Saline Township campus will include three 550,000-square-foot buildings. Construction is expected to start in early 2026, pending state approval.

Developers said the project prioritizes environmentally conscious design. The campus will use a closed-loop cooling system, which limits the amount of water needed to cool the equipment to levels similar to a large office building. DTE Energy, the local power provider, is supplying all power to the site using existing resources, supplemented by a new battery storage investment financed entirely by the project. This system is designed to avoid impact on existing customers’ energy supply or rates.