A long environmental review process is winding down for a proposed data center in the Cannon Falls area, a project that could be under construction next year.
Tract, a prolific Denver-based data center developer, wants to build a 1.75-million-square-foot technology park/data center on part of a 253-acre property across five parcels in Randolph Township, a site that would be annexed by the city of Cannon Falls.
The city launched an environmental review of the project in January. This week, the city released a final environmental review document, known as an Alternative Urban Areawide Review, which looks at “cumulative impacts of anticipated development scenarios” in a given area.
Jon Radermacher, Cannon Falls city administrator, said state agencies still have a chance to comment on the AUAR through Aug. 5.
Next steps include an annexation deal. Most of the land for the development is currently in Randolph Township, Radermacher said, so the city is working through “an orderly annexation agreement” with the township.
In the meantime, the city of Cannon Falls is the “responsible government unit” for the project. Radermacher said the city’s comprehensive plan is “satisfactory for this type of development,” so a comp plan amendment won’t be necessary.
The AUAR reveals that construction could begin in 2026. The sale of the property is contingent on the land use approvals. Under the best-case scenario, Radermacher said, that could happen as soon as this fall.
“Their indication has been they want to start some of the construction phases as soon as they can,” Radermacher said.
Data centers were a hot topic of conversation at the legislature this year. During the 2025 special session, the legislature set up Minnesota’s “first statewide regulatory framework for data centers,” according to the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota.
Craig Johnson, a lobbyist for the League of Minnesota Cities, said people who were trying to find ways to block data centers from being built were “trying to make cities be the bad guy” and place requirements on cities that would “make us have to block them.”
In the end, Johnson said, the Legislature did not put any of those new requirements in place.
“The real big issues with these, primarily, are water use and energy use. And then ancillary to that is, where do you put them?” Johnson said.
Tract, for its part, is no stranger to the Twin Cities.
Finance & Commerce reported last September that the developer wanted to bring roughly 2.5 million square feet of cloud infrastructure space to a Farmington site that includes the Fountain Valley Golf Course and existing school district property.
Site plans for the proposed Farmington Technology Park show up to 12 data center buildings and two administrative buildings on a 342-acre site south of 220th Street and east of Chippendale Avenue.
Included in the plans are 1.6 million square feet of data center space on a “northern campus” and 933,800 square feet on a “southern campus,” according to a city staff report.
The Farmington City Council approved the project in December, but residents subsequently sued the city over worries about noise, the project’s location and other concerns, according to media reports.
Tract’s website boasts that the company has more than 25,000 acres under control for data center projects across the country, including campuses exceeding 1,000 acres in Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Virginia.