Oregon Blocks Verrus Salem CampusOregon Blocks Verrus Salem CampusCoverage from PolitiFact, City of Salem, and others
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Verrus proposed a $5.
1 billion, three-building data center campus on roughly 75 acres at Salem’s Mill Creek Corporate Center, but the project remains in early review without a formal land-use application or construction approval. Residents raised concerns about electricity, water, environmental effects, noise, limited permanent jobs, and the use of a nondisclosure agreement. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek terminated a pending sale of 32 acres of state land, while Salem officials began considering stronger data center policies, public engagement requirements, and a possible moratorium.
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08/04/2026
The biggest update is that Verrus’s Salem project is now framed as still early and unresolved, with no formal land-use or building approval yet, while the state land-sale fight has advanced to an actual termination order. Salem’s response also appears more organized, shifting from general concern to active consideration of new controls and policy tools.
08/03/2026
The story has broadened from a single pending Salem campus review into a wider Oregon data center policy fight, driven by a governor-ordered land-sale cancellation and new municipal restrictions under consideration. At the same time, construction on Sabey’s Umatilla campus confirms the sector is still expanding even as Salem scrutiny intensifies.
In 2025, Salem officials signed an NDA with Verrus and later paused data center development in Salem, Oregon, following public concerns about transparency and local impacts.
Verrus proposes a data center at Salem's Mill Creek Corporate Center, and Salem will evaluate economic benefits, water impacts, and permitting steps including data center electricity tariff rules.
Salem's planning commission is recommending municipal code changes to establish data center boundaries after an approximately 75-acre Mill Creek Corporate Center proposal raised environmental concerns in Salem, Oregon.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek terminated a state land sale to Verrus for a proposed data center in Salem on Thursday after local opposition and concerns about infrastructure and natural resources.
7/30/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Residents and city officials in Salem, Oregon, debated a Verrus $5 billion data center proposal after opposition to nondisclosure agreement secrecy and questions about permitting authority.
7/29/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Salem City Council heard public opposition on July 27 to Verrus's proposed Oakline at Mill Creek data center before formal land-use applications were submitted.
7/28/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Verrus submitted an unapproved $5.1 billion Oakline at Mill Creek data center campus proposal to Salem, Oregon, including a utility substation and closed-loop cooling plans.
7/14/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Salem Township supervisors are set to consider expanding the data center overlay zone Wednesday for three proposed campuses near the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
Salem City Council voted on July 27, 2026 to explore banning nondisclosure agreements with data center companies amid local concerns about water, electricity costs, and backup-generator noise.
Salem residents will have a first public opportunity with city leaders on a proposed Verrus data center at Mill Creek Corporate Center during the July 27 City Council meeting.
Salem, Oregon city officials said Verrus is pursuing planning department review for a 75-acre data center at Mill Creek Corporate Center, with public input planned.
Verrus plans Oakline at Mill Creek in Salem, Oregon, proposing a three-building data center campus with closed-loop cooling and grid-reactive demand response.
7/15/2026 • Infrastructure & Site Development • General
Verrus presented a Salem, Oregon data center proposal at Mill Creek Corporate Center in a City Council forum in 2025, drawing debate over water, power, and permitting.
7/14/2026 • Infrastructure & Site Development • General
4-3 Glen Brook Group filed plans to seek Salem Township, Pennsylvania zoning approval for a Data Center Overlay Zoning District amendment, with a public hearing expected in July or August.
6/13/2026 • Infrastructure & Site Development • General
On July 15 in Umatilla, Oregon, officials heard Sabey Data Centers plans for a 150 MW-class data center campus with closed-loop cooling and a first data hall targeted for April 2028.
7/16/2026 • Infrastructure & Site Development • General
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