Microsoft Acquires 37 Acres in Licking County, Ohio, Expanding Data Center Land Holdings Past 700 Acres

Microsoft has purchased a further 37 acres of land in Licking County, Ohio, continuing a multi-year accumulation of property in the region as the company advances a trio of data center campuses across central Ohio. The transaction underscores the scale of land banking underway among hyperscale cloud providers competing to secure suitable sites for future capacity in one of the United States' fastest-growing data center corridors.

The land, located within Pataskala, was acquired for approximately $6.65 million, according to Columbus Business First. The parcels sit along Refugee Road, the same corridor where Microsoft reportedly acquired 289 acres in November 2023 and a further 40 acres in December 2024, though the company did not confirm at the time whether those purchases were intended for a data center project. The latest acquisition brings Microsoft's total land holdings in Licking County to more than 700 acres.

The purchase follows a period of shifting momentum for Microsoft's Ohio ambitions. In April 2025, the company said it was no longer moving forward with plans to invest $1 billion in three data center campuses in New Albany, Heath and Hebron, stating that it would "continue to evaluate these sites in line with our investment strategy" and revisit the project at an unspecified future date. That pause was lifted earlier this year when local reports indicated the cloud and technology giant had broken ground on the Heath and Hebron sites. Microsoft had previously purchased 227 acres along Thornwood Drive in Heath and 223 acres on High Street in Hebron.

According to Microsoft's project update pages, construction at the Heath site in July 2026 focused on safety, water management and site preparations for future buildings, with work on the substation also set to begin. The Hebron campus was at a similar stage of development, while the New Albany site was said to be nearing completion of construction activities undertaken by Ames Construction. The company said that "limited construction activities may continue through the summer as remaining work is completed, and future development phases are planned," adding that Microsoft will continue serving as the primary point of contact for community questions and updates. All three campuses are targeted to be online by 2029.

Pataskala sits geographically between New Albany and the Heath and Hebron sites, though no data center project is currently listed for the city on Microsoft's website. The continued land acquisition nevertheless signals that Microsoft is preserving optionality in the corridor as it weighs future development phases. For the broader industry, the move reflects how hyperscalers are securing large land positions years in advance of construction, locking in power-adjacent sites and buffering against local zoning constraints and rising competition for developable acreage. With the three Ohio campuses scheduled to come online by the end of the decade, Microsoft's expanding footprint in Licking County positions the region as a significant node in its North American cloud infrastructure buildout.