Vantage Lighthouse: $15B 1GW Stargate AI Campus WI
Status: Under Construction (Vertical Phase) | Location: 1 mile inland from Lake Michigan, Port Washington
Project Overview
Vantage Port Washington, codenamed Project Lighthouse, is a massive $15 billion AI campus serving as a primary Midwest hub for the OpenAI and Oracle "Stargate" expansion. Officially breaking ground on December 18, 2025, the project is one of the most significant infrastructure builds in Wisconsin's history. The 672-acre campus is designed to house nearly 1 gigawatt of AI compute capacity, specifically optimized for next-generation Large Language Model (LLM) training.
The "Lighthouse" design focuses on extreme density and resource preservation. It features a closed-loop liquid cooling system that targets near-zero Water Utilization Efficiency (WUE), protecting the nearby Lake Michigan ecosystem. To meet its massive power demand, Vantage and We Energies are adding nearly 2 GW of new zero-emission energy to the grid (solar, wind, and battery storage), with 70% dedicated to the campus and 30% provided to the local community. The project also includes $175 million in local infrastructure upgrades, including a new water tower and sewer interceptors.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Vantage Lighthouse: $15B 1GW Stargate AI Campus WI |
| Location | 1 mile inland from Lake Michigan, Port Washington |
| Status | Under Construction (Vertical Phase) |
| Commissioning | Phase 1: 2027; Full Buildout: 2028 |
| Total IT Load | 902 MW (Targeting ~1.3 GW by late 2027) |
| Total Capacity | 2.5 Million Sq. Ft. (4 Data Centers) |
| Tier Level | Tier III+ (AI-Optimized) |
| Project Type | Hyperscale AI Training Center (Stargate Expansion) |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| City Name | Port Washington, WI |
| Population | ~12,500 (Small town with global scale infrastructure) |
| Urban Agglomeration | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis Metro Area |
| City GDP | Estimated $2.7 Billion contribution to regional GDP |
| Per Capita Income | ~$67k |
| City Tier | Tier 3 (Emerging High-Tech/AI Hub) |
| Key Strengths | Near-zero water waste cooling, stable grid, union labor. |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Developer / Operator | VIRTUS Data Centers |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | OpenAI / Oracle |
| Construction Contractor | Whiting-Turner / Turner / McCarthy / Michels (JV) |
| MEP Engineering | NA |
| Network Connectivity | Multiple diverse fiber pathways (Dark & Lit) |
| Power Infrastructure | We Energies (WEC Energy Group) |
Technical Specifications
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Power Capacity | 902 MW IT Load (1.3 GW Total Site Capacity) |
| UPS Redundancy | $N+1$ across all electrical systems |
| Cooling System | Liquid-to-Liquid Closed-Loop (Near-Zero Water Waste) |
| Connectivity | One Point-of-Entry (POE) per building; 2+ paths per carrier |
| PUE Target | 1.10–1.12 |
| Energy Mix | 70% New Zero-Emission On-site/Matched; 100% Annual Match |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Announcement | May 2025 |
| Construction Start | December 9, 2025 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | 2027 |
| Full Buildout | NA |
Investment Details
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Total Investment | $15 Billion |
| Funding | Vantage / DigitalBridge / Silver Lake |