GREENLEAF (NBC26) — Cloverleaf Infrastructure confirmed to NBC 26 the company is no longer pursuing their plans to build an AI data center in the Village of Greenleaf.
Leadership spoke with Greenleaf officials Monday night and decided not to build the data center due to lack of support from local leaders, Cloverleaf's Chief Development Officer Aaron Bilyeu told NBC 26.
Watch Kyle Langellier's full broadcast story here:
Cloverleaf Infrastructure had offered $120,000 per acre for approximately 500 acres to build what would have been the first AI data center of its kind in northeast Wisconsin. The facility would have been a massive addition to a community of just over 900 residents.
"We're small, we're very small," said Bonnie Crossman, Greenleaf Village Board President. "Just the size of something that big, coming into this small, it's overwhelming."
After discussions with local leadership, Cloverleaf Infrastructure confirmed that they are abandoning their Greenleaf plans.
"We had a nice conversation and we ended with him saying the village of Greenleaf is now off the table," Crossman said. "I could've cried on that phone call, honestly."
The company stated that without support from local leadership, they don't want to build in the community. Greenleaf currently has one gas station, one family restaurant, and one roundabout.
The proposed data center would have been located across the street from Ledgestone Vineyards. Owners Adam and Katrina Magnuson expressed relief but said the broader conversation about data centers in the region continues.
"There's so much yet to learn, what will be that impact on the environment, what will be that impact on our tax base what will be the impact on our energy usage," the Magnusons said.
The vineyard owners said they've been contacted by neighbors in Kaukauna, Beaver Dam, Kewaunee and Manitowoc about data centers coming to their neighborhoods.
"What we were able to do in Greenleaf in a short amount of time, hopefully provides a playbook, or a tool kit on how you can speak about this," the Magnusons said.
They emphasized that neighboring communities are willing to work with data centers but want more transparency in the process.
See Jessica Goska's previous reporting on the proposed data center below:
