Spanish infrastructure giant ACS is moving forward with plans to develop a large-scale data center campus in Fort Worth, Texas, marking another step in the company's strategic shift from traditional construction services to digital infrastructure development.

According to reporting from the Fort Worth Report and other outlets, ACS is planning to construct a five-building data center complex alongside a substation on a 107-acre plot in the northern part of the city. The project site is located near Hicks Field Road, west of Interstate 35, north of Interstate 820, and east of Business 287. Specific addresses for the proposed development include 10059 Hicks Field Road, 10197 Hicks Field Road, and 9401 Wagley Robertson Road.

Although technical specifications such as the size and capacity of the data centers have not yet been disclosed, the development is expected to take place in two phases. The first phase is projected to go live by the end of 2031, while Phase II is scheduled for completion by 2034. A substation, to be built by Oncor Electric, will be located adjacent to the facility to support the project’s power demands.

ACS, which is perhaps best known in the United States as the parent company of Turner Construction, has been rapidly expanding its presence in the data center space. The company has stakes in several major construction and engineering firms worldwide, including Hochtief, Dragados, CIMIC, Leighton Asia, and Ventia. Clients in the data center sector already include tech giants such as Meta and Vantage Data Centers.

Traditionally focused on construction services for third-party clients, ACS has begun pivoting toward a model in which it develops and owns digital infrastructure that it can lease or sell. This new direction is reflected in its ambitious global development pipeline, which is reported to total 5 gigawatts (GW) of potential data center capacity.

The company’s Q3 2024 financial results presentation outlined a greenfield investment strategy targeting 1.1GW of initial capacity—278MW in Spain, 220MW in Australia, 300MW in the US, and 300MW in Chile—backed by approximately $3.4 billion in equity. Beyond that, ACS claims to have identified an additional 4GW of potential development opportunities around the globe.

During a recent Fort Worth City Council work session, Cherie Gordon of the Fort Worth Economic Development Department noted that, “The company does not have a customer yet for the Forth Worth development.” Despite the absence of a confirmed tenant, ACS appears committed to the project and is seeking incentives to help move it forward.

As part of its proposal, submitted under the name ACS DC Hicks Field Road, LLC, the company is requesting tax incentives from the city. Specifically, ACS is asking for grants covering up to 70 percent of ad valorem property taxes in exchange for a minimum investment of $240.8 million in the first development phase by 2031. The company is also committing to the creation of 28 full-time jobs with annual salaries of at least $150,000.

Phase II of the plan would require an additional $240.8 million investment and the creation of nine more high-paying jobs by the end of 2034. The proposed incentive package would last for ten years. City staff have reviewed the proposal and are recommending approval, with a final decision expected at the next city council meeting on April 8.

In terms of sustainability, the company also shared plans to reduce the environmental impact of the site. “The company plans to use a water loop system to decrease the amount of water used on the site,” an ACS spokesperson said during the work session.

ACS was originally formed in 1997 through the merger of Spanish firms OCP Construcciones, S.A. and Ginés Navarro Construcciones, S.A. The firm has since grown into a global powerhouse in infrastructure development.

In another recent move reinforcing its data center ambitions, ACS’s subsidiary Iridium acquired a 6.7-hectare parcel of land in the Alcalá de Henares area of Madrid last year for the construction of a new 50MW data center, further underscoring the company’s international focus on digital infrastructure.

With its Fort Worth proposal, ACS is signaling a strong interest in the booming U.S. data center market, particularly in Texas, which has become a hotspot for hyperscale development due to favorable energy conditions and growing enterprise demand.

Originally reported by Dan Swinhoe in Data Center Dynamics.