Microsoft to Build Fifth, Massive Western US Azure Region

Seeing demand growth for its cloud services by customers on the US West Coast, Microsoft is close to kicking off data center construction on one of two large sites in Goodyear, Arizona, that will host its fifth West Coast cloud availability region.

A Microsoft spokesman told local news outlet AZ Central that the company plans to build data centers on both the site near the Phoenix Goodyear Airport it bought last year and the site about 10 miles away it bought just last week.

Microsoft statement to AZ Central:

As part of our plans to support the growing demand for cloud and internet services in Arizona and across the Western United States, Microsoft recently purchased land at two locations in Goodyear, Arizona where we intend to develop world-class data center facilities.

Microsoft issued the statement after AZ Central reviewed unredacted site plans for the location near the airport provided by local planning officials that show two buildings, but the site can accommodate three more.

The first building, already scheduled for the first phase of development, will be about 245,000 square feet, with 3,000 square feet of office space. The second, not scheduled for development yet, will be about 243,000 square feet, with 2,000 square feet of office space.

Microsoft bought the 259 acres of land in Goodyear last August, paying Phoenix-based Carefree Partners $48 million, according to AZ Central. Last week, the company bought 147 acres in Goodyear for $37 million.

Approximate locations of the two future Microsoft cloud data center sites in Goodyear, Arizona:

Microsoft’s existing Western US cloud regions are West Central US in Utah, West US 2 in Washington State, West US in the San Francisco Bay Area, and US Gov in Arizona, according to Build Azure, a site that tracks Microsoft’s cloud technologies.

There’s been a spike in activity by data center builders in Goodyear, a city of about 80,000 people west of Phoenix. Stream Data Centers announced plans to build a data center campus in Goodyear in February, and Vantage Data Centers announced plans to build one in January.