Gaines Township, MI · Kent County · 42.823°N 85.640°W
Switch Pyramid Campus
Switch
Key facts
- Location
- Gaines Township, MI, Kent County
- Capacity
- 225 MW
- Powered by
- Grid
- Announced
- 2022
- Last updated
Civic impact
Economics
- Land
- 138 acres
- Jobs
- 148 permanent
Energy & water
- Energy source
- Wind · Utility: Consumers Energy
100% renewable — Switch was Consumers Energy's first large-business renewable customer and negotiated a dedicated new wind project; an on-site substation provides grid interconnection (not generation). The campus is designed for up to 320 MW.
No facility-specific cooling type or water volume is disclosed; the City of Grand Rapids provides water and sewer service.
Public subsidies
- Michigan data-center sales-and-use tax exemption (PA 251/252 of 2015, enacted for Switch; saved ~$2M in 2022)Michigan · 2016
- Michigan Strategic Fund Renaissance Zone — 15-year personal-property tax exemption (from 2016; ~$1.1M/year), tied to a 103-job pledge that was not metMichigan / Gaines Township / Kent County · 2016
Community sentiment
The project repurposed the long-vacant, iconic Steelcase 'Pyramid' and is broadly welcomed locally, with the township receiving roughly $430K/year from Switch and its tenants. But it has drawn accountability friction: an initial 1,000-job vision became a 103-job commitment, of which only 26 were created by the 2021 deadline (about 148 by later reporting), and a dispute over school capital-debt millage reached the state legislature. An announced ~$400M construction budget contrasts with ~$150M reported as actually invested by 2018.
Data centers create few jobs; Michigan wants to give them big tax breaks — Bridge MichiganStatus history
- Operational
Switch acquires 7-story Steelcase Pyramid building in Gaines Township, Kent County for $22.2M; Phase 1 delivers 225,000 sq ft white space
- Under construction
Phase 2 begins: 312,000 sq ft second building
- Under construction
Phase 2 completed spring 2025; Phase 3 third building announced; construction expected to start 'sooner rather than later'; investment 'several hundred million dollars'
Switch plans second expansion of pyramid data center campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Location
Sources & data provenance
Confirmed: data verified against official filings, permits, or direct operator announcements.
Last updated:
- Data Center DynamicsRetrieved:
- SwitchRetrieved:
- SwitchRetrieved:
- Bridge MichiganRetrieved:
- GoverningRetrieved:
- BaxtelRetrieved:
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