KEY POINTS
-
Sabey Data Centers started work on a 714,540-square-foot campus in Umatilla, Ore., a 60-acre project designed to support more than 150 megawatts of capacity.
-
Local officials said the project strengthens the Columbia Corridor and is expected to bring hundreds of construction jobs along with longer-term economic activity.
-
Sabey expects the first of two data halls to come online in April 2028, with local officials also highlighting long-term economic diversification and limited water use through closed-loop cooling.
Sabey Data Centers broke ground on a new 714,540-square-foot data center campus in Umatilla, according to the East Oregonian, adding another large-scale digital infrastructure project to the Columbia River Corridor.
The 60-acre campus on Wanapa Road is being designed to support more than 150 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Data centers are typically measured in megawatts, which indicate power capacity or electrical load at a given moment.
Sabey Data Centers, one of the nation’s largest privately owned multi-tenant data center operators, develops build-to-suit facilities tailored to a client’s technical and operational requirements. Company officials said the Umatilla project reflects months of planning, coordination, and capital investment.
An undated site image from Sabey Data Centers of its data center campus in Umatilla, Oregon. Image: Sabey Data Centers
Columbia River Corridor Continues to Attract Development
Company officials said Umatilla’s position within the Columbia River Cloud Corridor was a central reason for the investment. The region has become a strategic destination for hyperscale and cloud facilities because it offers access to reliable, cost-stable and renewable hydroelectric power.
The wider market already includes dozens of data center buildings operating or under development across 10 campuses in neighboring Morrow County.
Sabey executives said the Umatilla campus will require hundreds of skilled construction workers during buildout.
The Columbia Corridor Association describes the area as "...the largest industrial area in the state, with 3,500 businesses employing 75,000 people, with more middle-wage jobs than anywhere else in the state."
A map of the Columbia River Corridor. Image: Columbia Corridor Association
State and local leaders framed the project as a broader economic development win for the region, saying large industrial investments like this can help attract follow-on business activity and reinforce northeastern Oregon’s position as a place to build.
AI Infrastructure Driving Data Center Demand
Sabey executives linked the project to rising demand for artificial intelligence and the broader digital economy, describing data centers as foundational infrastructure for sectors ranging from healthcare and education to banking and entertainment.
That description matches a construction trend seen nationally, as well.
Data Center construction starts have accounted for over one-fifth of all Nonresidential building (NRB) starts over the last 12 months, ConstructConnect economists Michael Guckes and Devin Bell reported in the July 2026 Data Center Report.
Rural Markets Offer Labor and Operations Potential
Sabey officials said the company’s experience in smaller communities shows that data center investment can create technical career paths that previously required workers to relocate to larger cities. The company operates nine campuses nationwide, according to its website, that includes facilities in smaller Washington markets such as Quincy and the Wenatchee area.
Executives pointed to Quincy as an example of how digital infrastructure can anchor local employment, saying a meaningful share of that campus workforce came through the local community.
Amber Daniels, assistant general manager for the Umatilla campus, told the East Oregonian that the first of two data halls is expected to go online in April 2028. She also said site work has been underway since spring, including blasting and stockpiling rock that will be reused during construction.
Closed-Loop Cooling Addresses Water Concerns
Water use remains one of the most scrutinized issues surrounding data center development, but Sabey officials said the Umatilla campus will rely on a closed-loop cooling system intended to reduce consumption.
In a closed-loop system, water is continuously recirculated through a sealed cooling architecture to remove heat from servers, avoiding the heavy daily losses associated with traditional evaporative cooling towers.
In a related development, New York became the first US state to pause state environmental permits for new data centers of 50 megawatts or more for up to one year while agencies build a new regulatory framework. The order puts New York at the center of a widening fight over whether AI-era data centers are pushing up utility costs, straining power grids and water systems, and shifting infrastructure costs onto ratepayers.
Local officials said the Umatilla data center project’s water demand should be considered in the context of other regional uses and argued the campus will have a comparatively limited impact while helping diversify the local economy.
Beyond direct construction employment, city leaders said the development is expected to support longer-term business activity from ancillary firms in areas such as fiber optics, pipefitting and other technical services.
With the first of two data halls scheduled to open in April 2028, the Umatilla project adds another campus to Sabey’s nine-campus portfolio and to the Columbia River corridor’s growing concentration of tech development.
Stay Connected
Stay connected with ConstructConnect News for construction industry news and construction market analysis to stay ahead of what’s building next.
About ConstructConnect
At ConstructConnect, our software solutions provide the information that construction professionals need to start every project on a solid foundation. For more than 100 years, our keen insights and market intelligence have empowered commercial firms, building product manufacturers, trade contractors, and architects to make data-driven decisions, streamline preconstruction workflows, and maximize their productivity. Our newest offerings—including our comprehensive, AI-assisted software—help our clients find, bid on, and win more projects.
ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.
For more information, visit constructconnect.com
.jpg)
