How Assembly Bill 140 Paved the Way for the $8 Billion Data Center in Port Washington

Vast fields of grass with generational history lay desolate. Lonely, abandoned houses sit in wait to be demolished. The land is fated to become an Artificial Intelligence Data Center. Where houses once stood, large warehouse-sized buildings will be constructed. Instead of the distant sound of tractors and combines running, it will be replaced with the soft drone that the data center will emit.

In August of this year, the Common Council and Mayor Ted Neitzke of Port Washington approved a deal with the Colorado-based company Vantage to build an $8 billion-dollar AI Data Center, titled “Project Lighthouse.”

The Data Gold Rush comes to Wisconsin

This is not the first AI Data Center to pop up in Wisconsin. In 2023, Racine was the first to approve the construction of a billion-dollar facility by Microsoft; it is set to begin operation in 2026.

This is a part of a longer investigative project surrounding data centers. The Media Milwaukee team spent four months researching the golden age of AI, and how the data rush seems to be heading towards the Midwest. Because data centers require large amounts of water to cool the systems, access to bodies of water like Lake Michigan has drawn companies like Microsoft and Vantage in.

So what is a Tax Incremental District? Why is it controversial?

The cost to build these enormous buildings is hefty, and Vantage is paying the taxes to the city, but through a complex Tax Incremental District (TID) contract. Vantage will fund an estimated $175 million upfront for the infrastructure and get reimbursed by the new property taxes generated by the project over about 20 years, while also paying some immediate taxes on the land itself. This will supply early revenue for the city and schools. 

TIDs are complicated. Reporters talked to Assemblyman Ryan Clancy of Milwaukee to try to understand them better. He described it using Kwik Trip as an example. If Kwik Trip wanted an incentive to build on a piece of land that wouldn’t economically make sense, they could go to the community and ask to put the money they’d pay in taxes towards their business.

The contract with Vantage comes with controversy from residents, but it was approved by the Port Washington Common council in early November. Residents expressed anger over generational farm land being destroyed and families being bought out by private investors.

Critics argue that they divert future property tax growth to subsidize development, potentially starving schools and other services of funds, which often benefits private developers. 

Clancy has been avidly against TIDs. “I would potentially vote for a TID that did something for people. I would consider a housing project. But you’d have to have a really high standard where you’d have to have public involvement and then a public good coming out the other end of that.”

Where Assembly Bill 140 plays a role

Vantage proposed the data center at the beginning of 2025. In May, the Wisconsin Assembly voted to pass Assembly Bill 140. The Senate passed its version on June 18, 2025, and Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law on July 8, 2025, at which point it became 2025 Wisconsin Act 16. 

Out of 99 assemblymen, only six voted no, and two did not vote. 

What does this bill do? The bill created an exception allowing the Beaver Dam and Port Washington data centers to bypass a 12% limit on TIDs and receive additional funds after the data center is certified by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation(WEDC), and if the project costs are related to the center.

Representative Robert Brooks wrote a testimony in favor of the TID for Port Washington, saying, “As the demand for faster and more robust data processing continues to rise, driven in large part by advancements in Artificial Intelligence, the need for additional data centers is becoming increasingly urgent. With municipalities across the country actively competing to attract these high-tech developments, positioning Port Washington as a viable destination is both timely and strategic.” 

He continues on to say, “Granting this exemption enables the city to advance this substantial data and server center initiative while preserving long-term development flexibility.”

Clancy, who voted no on the bill, disagreed. “I said this is not positive economic development. TIDS are generally, I mean, incredibly overused in Wisconsin as well as other places.”

 As of April 28, 2025, there are 1,445 active TID districts in Wisconsin. The only two states in the country that don’t use TIDs or a version of one are Arizona and Wyoming, with Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois having over 1,000 TIDs per state.

Dan Feyen, a Wisconsin State Senator, voted in favor of Assembly Bill 140. He cites the technological advancements that would be made in the state, “With the demand to process increasing amounts of data growing every day, especially given advances in Artificial Intelligence, we need data centers to keep the internet up to speed….AB 140 creates an exemption for Port Washington’s Tax Incremental District 5 from the 12% rule. This will allow them to continue towards the development of a massive data and server center while maintaining flexibility for future development and growth.”

Only a few companies have successfully been certified, making this a very selective incentive aimed at major, long-term infrastructure projects. These certifications are issued by the WEDC and then listed publicly by the Department of Revenue.

How many more data centers will flood the Midwest? That’s unknown. There have been consistent developments, and this is an ongoing story that many residents and locals are advocating to be shared.

While the bill already passed, the effects are still unknown. There have been consistent developments, and residents continue to protest its construction. It remains an ongoing story.