President Biden to showcase Microsoft’s plans for former Foxconn site during Racine County visit

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis (WRJN) – President Joe Biden’s Racine County visit will include details about Microsoft growing even larger in the area.  Specific details about his Wednesday visit aren’t yet known, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the president will highlight a massive increase in what the tech company has planned for the former Foxconn site.

While the initial plan for Foxconn never grew to fruition, Mount Pleasant village leaders and Governor Tony Evers persisted.  Evers reworked the Foxconn deal and infrastructure and land set aside for Foxconn was sold and transferred to Microsoft, giving them the space and resources to build data centers in Racine County.

Microsoft now owns 1,345 acres in Mount Pleasant.  The expansion of land ownership is part of their plan to invest billions of dollars over the next decade in building new data centers. Construction is well underway on the 315 acres that Microsoft currently owns.

In addition to its expansion plans, Microsoft is also actively engaged in environmental and community initiatives in the area. The company has committed $4.2 million to restore 1.5 miles of Lamparek Creek and pledged $100,000 for water restoration projects in collaboration with Root-Pike Win.  The company is also providing $200,000 to support programming and STEM education efforts with the United Way of Racine County and they are partnering with Gateway Technical College to establish a Microsoft Data Center Academy.   

Microsoft’s expansion represents one of the largest private sector investments in the history of Wisconsin.

Biden’s visit to Racine County comes a week after former President Donald Trump used a day off in his New York criminal trial to visit Waukesha County.  Recent polling is giving Trump the edge in Wisconsin, with Emerson College putting Trump up 4 points over Biden and a YouGov poll with the same result.