The Creuziger family from Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, recently sold 407 acres of their land to Microsoft for an impressive sum of $76 million, a significant windfall for the family.
The land, which includes the Land of the Giants pumpkin farm and a 9-acre corn maze, was initially valued at $598,400, making Microsoft’s offer a game-changer for the family.
Back in 2017, the local government of Mount Pleasant had offered the family roughly a third of what Microsoft eventually paid for the land.
The initial plan was to sell the property to Foxconn for a manufacturing plant, but the Creuziger family declined that offer. Foxconn later scaled back its plans for the plant, paving the way for Microsoft’s purchase.
Microsoft’s acquisition wasn’t limited to the Creuziger’s land; they also bought an additional 641 acres from the town of Mount Pleasant, totaling nearly $100 million in land purchases. The company is expanding to support its growing cloud and AI services, necessitating new server locations.
While there’s no set timeline for the construction of the new data center, the tech giant has announced plans to invest up to $1 billion in the project.
The company expects to employ at least 200 people initially at the new center, with the potential to increase the workforce to around 460.
