OpenAI, Oracle builds Michigan data center

Associated Digital is a subsidiary of a major real estate firm that has worked on large-scale projects such as New York City’s Hudson Yards neighborhood.

Blau said Related Digital is going through a “technical learning curve” as it builds its data center business, and the company is bringing in “real technical experts to help us.”

“The fundamentals of execution, development and construction are the same,” he said.

–Ashley Caputo

Asked about the growing public backlash against the development of AI data centers, Blau suggested without evidence that some of the opposition may come from “paid protesters” supported by foreign actors such as China.

“To be clear, I also don’t think all the opponents are local,” Blau said. “So we’re seeing opposition essentially being bussed onto these data center sites, which is very interesting. And it’s not very clear where the capital and funding and support for these opposition is coming from.”

He said the Trump administration is “seriously considering” whether foreign entities may be supporting efforts to block the data center project.

Asked directly if he was implying that China was involved in the backlash, he replied, “That’s a possibility.”

— Annie Palmer

Blau said Related expects to deliver Stargate Michigan at the end of 2027 and “start to see cash flow shortly thereafter.”

“As you know, it takes three to four years to build a high-rise building, but this is actually much faster,” he said. “It’s a great return for us and our investors.”

The real estate giant is widely known for developing New York’s Hudson Yards and also has a stake in Equinox Fitness Club.

— Samantha Subin

OpenAI, Oracle, and other technology companies are pledging billions of dollars to build data centers, but they are facing fierce opposition from many communities across the United States.

Last year, local opposition and lawsuits blocked or delayed at least $156 billion in data center projects, according to a report from Data Center Watch.

Michigan’s Stargate project faced significant opposition. The Saline Township board initially voted 4-1 against the data center project. Associated Digital sued the town, and after the lawsuit was resolved, the project moved forward.

“Here, Related is leveraging decades of experience working with communities and building responsibly,” Blau said.

Blau acknowledged local residents’ concerns about data centers taking away local water supplies, but said Stargate would use a “closed-loop cooling system” that would use less water than farmers.

“We maintain open space,” he said. “So we’re on about 700 acres, more than half of which is permanently preserved as agricultural land and contributes in a variety of ways to the fire department and recreation center.”

–Ashley Caputo

Blau said the company is building the infrastructure to support the sprawling Michigan Stargate data center project.

This includes substations, data halls, power cooling, chips and racks, he said.

“Oracle will take it over from there and invest a lot of dollars beyond our $16 billion,” he said.

— Samantha Subin

The Michigan Stargate site was announced late last year, and Associated Digital said in a release that it will be developed on 250 acres of land in Saline Township, southwest of Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County.

The project consisted of three 550,000 square foot one-story buildings and was nicknamed “The Barn” because of the red barn marking the entrance to the site.

—Ashley Caputo