Applied Digital confirms $3.2865 billion AI data centre campus in Brookwood

Applied Digital named Brookwood, Alabama, as the site of its Delta Forge 2 AI data centre campus on 24 September, a project with an initial investment of $3.2865 billion, according to a county fact sheet reported by ABC 33/40.

Delta Forge 2 has a 210-megawatt lease

The investment is shared between Applied Digital and its tenant, the company said in a release reported by WBRC. Applied Digital designs, builds and operates data centres that it leases to technology companies. It previously announced a lease for 210 megawatts of critical IT load at Delta Forge 2 with a US-based hyperscale company.

The company has identified Delta Forge 2 as the fifth campus in its AI Factory platform. Across those five campuses, Applied Digital reports approximately 1.4 gigawatts of critical IT load under long-term lease agreements. The Brookwood lease gives the planned construction a contracted tenant rather than leaving its computing capacity to be marketed after completion.

The planned buildings cover approximately 1.26 million square feet on roughly 160 acres of a nearly 1,300-acre site north of the 17,000 block of Brookwood Parkway. Brookwood Mayor Joe Barger had identified the proposed development as an AI data centre on 2 September, but said at that point that the project had not been signed, WBRC reported.

Brookwood tax abatements total $314.5 million

The Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority voted unanimously on 24 September to approve the incentive package, the Tuscaloosa Thread reported. A fact sheet from the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority puts projected abatements at approximately $314.5 million: $140.7 million in ad valorem taxes over 20 years and $173.8 million in sales and use taxes during construction.

The project is also projected to pay approximately $170.7 million in taxes over 20 years, including roughly $131.5 million for education, according to the county fact sheet reported by the Tuscaloosa Thread. The education projection comprises $101.6 million in property taxes and $29.9 million in sales and use taxes, Patch reported. Education taxes are outside the abatement agreement.

The authority said the abatement applies only to the planned 160-acre campus, Patch reported. A new data centre campus or major investment on the remaining land would need fresh review and agreements. The authority also said the agreement provides no direct public payment to the developer and contains no rebates or refunds.

Applied Digital commits $270 million in payments

Applied Digital committed $270 million in community benefit payments to the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority over 20 years. The authority said the agreement calls for 20 annual payments of $13.5 million, starting when the facility is placed in service, Patch reported. It described the arrangement as Alabama’s first community benefit agreement for a data centre development.

The payments are intended for Brookwood, Tuscaloosa and Northport, Tuscaloosa County, the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission and DCH Healthcare Authority. Each recipient’s share will follow its current local tax distribution, Applied Digital said in a release reported by WBRC. The payments are separate from the projected education taxes.

Applied Digital said it would bear the full cost of serving the campus’s energy needs, WVTM 13 reported. Construction employment is expected to peak at more than 1,000 workers. Once operating, the facility is expected to support 101 full-time positions, according to the county fact sheet reported by ABC 33/40.

Applied Digital is scheduled to begin construction on 1 October 2026, with completion expected by 31 December 2028, according to the county fact sheet reported by ABC 33/40.