QTS Begins Phase I Work at Van Wert Data Center Site as Construction Workforce Forecast Rises
DataNews Editorial Team
Work has recently begun on Phase I of QTS’s data-center project at the Van Wert Mega Site in Ohio. The phase will involve four buildings being constructed simultaneously, while projected daily construction staffing could reach as many as 5,500 after March 2028.
- Phase I work has recently begun at QTS’s Van Wert Mega Site project in Ohio.
- The first phase calls for four buildings of roughly 650,000 square feet each, to be built concurrently.
- The projected workforce is about 2,000 workers in the first 12 months and could reach as many as 5,500 people per day after March 2028.
- Suffolk Construction Company has been named as the project contractor.
- Housing, services and logistics capacity are emerging as local delivery considerations.
QTS has recently started work on Phase I of its data-center project at the Van Wert Mega Site in Ohio, according to Brent Stevens, director of Van Wert Area Economic Development.
Phase I comprises four buildings to be constructed concurrently, each estimated at roughly 650,000 square feet. Suffolk Construction Company has been identified as the contractor responsible for the project.
Construction labor requirements have been revised substantially upward from an original estimate of approximately 1,500 workers. The project is expected to require about 2,000 construction workers during its first 12 months, beginning with several hundred workers during early earthworks. After March 2028, daily workforce demand could rise to as many as 5,500 people.
The source describes the QTS data center as a $10 billion project, although it does not specify whether that figure applies to the full campus, Phase I, or another project boundary. The workforce ramp highlights the local delivery challenge created by simultaneous construction of four large facilities. Local authorities are discussing additional housing and commercial infrastructure to accommodate the anticipated inflow of workers.
For the data-center construction market, the development suggests that labor availability, workforce lodging, logistics and coordination among specialist contractors could become material schedule and cost considerations on large campuses. Building multiple facilities concurrently concentrates those risks within a single regional market.
The project illustrates how large, multi-building data-center campuses can concentrate demand for specialist construction labor, temporary accommodation, logistics and local services. That concentration could affect project scheduling and construction costs where labor availability and contractor coordination are constrained.
- — / October 26, 2026 · EnglishSource →
This article was prepared by the DataNews editorial team based on the sources listed above.