Aligned Data Centers Moves Ahead With Phoenix-Area Plans

Greater Phoenix’s data center boom is spreading to suburban Peoria.

Aligned Data Centers is planning to construct a two-building data center campus on a 95-acre site at 75th Avenue and Butler Drive, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The complex would span 916,000 square feet.

Aligned acquired the property in October 2024 for $43.2 million. The project location is within Peoria Logistics Park, an industrial campus with tenants like Frito-Lay and Trader Joe’s.

The proposal, submitted in March, has already passed through the first round of review by the City of Peoria.

The campus is the only planned data center in Peoria. But the Plano, Texas-based firm has been active elsewhere in the Phoenix area, joining recent additions like Prime Data Centers’ $3 billion, 1.3-million-square-foot campus in Avondale that is under construction. Aligned has data centers either in development or already open across the Valley, including one in north Phoenix, two in Chandler and one in Glendale near Luke Air Force Base.

The City of Phoenix attempted to stymie some data center growth last year with a data center zoning and noise limit ordinance in an effort to control the water and energy strain on the city’s infrastructure. That effectively put the kibosh on plans Aligned had in the city.

The company had acquired a vacant Deer Valley office park near Interstate 17 and Loop 101 for $108 million in 2022 with plans to convert it into a data center campus.

Aligned sought more than $75.4 million in compensation due to the loss in value at its Deer Valley property, though instead of paying affected companies back, the city has entered agreements with developers to either allow their projects to proceed or pivot to other uses.

In March, the Phoenix City Council discussed granting Aligned permission to move forward with its planned project, though the company asked for more time to finalize the wording in the deal to ensure the data center will receive enough power necessary to function.

— Chris Malone Méndez