Related Digital, together with Blackstone, Oracle, OpenAI, and Walbridge, have broken ground on the $16bn Stargate data centre campus in Saline Township, Michigan.
The project, named The Barn, is described as the largest economic investment in Michigan’s history. It is currently being built with the support of more than 700 union tradespeople at the site.
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First announced in October 2025, the data centre campus is expected to deliver more than 1GW of capacity. It forms part of OpenAI and Oracle’s previously announced plan to add 4.5GW of Stargate capacity.
The financing mix for the campus includes equity contributions from Related Digital and Blackstone-affiliated funds, coupled with long-term, fixed-rate debt anchored by funds and accounts managed by PIMCO.
The project is expected to create more than 2,500 union construction jobs during its build phase. It will also provide for over 450 permanent onsite roles and an additional 1,500 supporting jobs throughout the county.
Walbridge is the general contractor on the Saline Township data centre project.
As part of efforts to strengthen the surrounding community, Related Digital, Blackstone, OpenAI, Oracle, and Walbridge have announced a $10m investment towards expanding and modernising the Saline Recreation Centre.
The funding is allocated for upgrades including renovation of the Aquatic Centre, an expanded swimming pool with a zero-depth entry leisure area, a lazy river, and improved childcare facilities.
This initiative follows prior commitments amounting to $14m in community investments, focused on local fire services and farmland preservation.
Related Digital chairman and Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau said: “This project represents one of the most significant infrastructure investments in Michigan’s history and will help power the next generation of American innovation and artificial intelligence. But from the very beginning, we believed this project also needed to deliver lasting value for the community around it.”
The Stargate campus is being constructed under a project labour agreement tied to the National Maintenance Agreement, involving all 14 signatory skilled trade unions.
It marks the first data centre in the US built under the memorandum of understanding between OpenAI and North America’s Building Trades Unions, enabled by Walbridge’s collaborative relationship with local building trades.
According to the project team, more than 300,000 union trade hours have been completed on the 250-acre campus so far.
The data centre buildings have been designed to achieve LEED certification and feature a closed-loop, air-cooled system, aiming to minimise water usage.
More than 750 acres of open space, farmland, and wetlands adjacent to the site are also set for preservation.
DTE will supply all project electricity, supplemented by a new battery storage investment that is estimated to generate $300m in grid savings for existing customers.
The first of three planned 550,000ft², single-storey data centre buildings is nearing completion.
