The data center boom going on around Cheyenne, Wyoming, is redonkulous, and I don’t think this is what residents want. But developers and their influenced (or controlled) politicians are pushing it all through. It’s an old story about moneyed interests doing what they want by hook or by crook.
The proposed 5,600-worker man camp south of Cheyenne would be larger than 84 Wyoming towns. Notices were mailed to more than 200 landowners describing it as “secured, temporary workforce housing campus” supporting “large-scale infrastructure projects.”
By Kate Meadows
The Laramie County Planning Commission is eager to put a shovel in the ground on a proposed 800-unit man camp that could house up to 5,600 workers and specialists expected to come with a flood of artificial intelligence and data center construction.
The planners are asking the city of Cheyenne to collaborate on the project, which by size alone could be a city of its own in Wyoming.
The 5,600 workers it could serve would be larger than nearly 85% of the state’s incorporated cities or towns, according to the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division.
According to the agency, that’s larger than the population of 84 of Wyoming’s 99 incorporated places.
With multiple billion-dollar projects converging on the Cheyenne area at once, Laramie County officials say they’re racing against the clock to answer one pressing question: Where will the thousands of incoming workers live?
Laramie County Planning and Development Director Justin Arnold told Cowboy State Daily that the Planning Commission, the city planning department, and project developer Iron Guard Housing recently held a pre-application meeting.
“The county really wants to be able to collaborate with the city on this because there are a lot of moving parts,” Arnold said.
Iron Guard Housing applied to build the man camp on the prairie just outside Cheyenne.
Cowboy State Daily previously reported the application targets a parcel on incorporated county land in the High Plains Business Park adjacent to the massive Meta data center already under construction.
County officials increasingly view the project not as optional, but necessary.
“People in the community are starting to understand that the alternative to workforce accommodation could be devastating,” said Justin Arnold, director of the county’s Planning and Development. “You do the math.
“If we have 10,000 workers come into our community and we don’t have anywhere to put them, where are they going to live?”
Neighbors React
Notices were mailed March 25 to more than 200 landowners within a mile of the proposed man camp site describing the project as a “secured, temporary workforce housing campus” supporting “large-scale infrastructure projects.”
Some residents have reacted with alarm to the size and potential impacts of such a large man camp, including increased crime.
Southside Cheyenne resident Elizabeth Marvin told planners she was “extremely disappointed and angry” and “devastated that even the suggestion of building a work camp, that could house up to 1,600 men, would be considered.”
Heather Madrid listed traffic, utilities, public safety and property values as her chief concerns of the project.
“Man camps in similar locations have led to an increase in property crime, DUI’s, drug crimes, and violent crimes,” she wrote in a letter to planners. “There are many schools in this area.”
She also questioned whether local law enforcement and infrastructure are equipped to absorb a sudden population surge.
“This area of town is underserved and under-resourced as it is,” she wrote. “How do you plan to keep our community safe?”
Workers Already Here — And Coming
County and city leaders agree the region is growing rapidly, but differ somewhat on how much of the incoming workforce has already arrived.
“A lot of the workforce we’re trying to accommodate are already here,” Arnold said.
Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins believes the largest wave is still coming, saying that while Cheyenne is growing, many of the workers for these proposed projects haven’t shown up yet.
The proposed Tallgrass project has not yet brought in workers, he said, nor has a gold mining project expected to begin construction soon.
“I think there’s a lot of drivers that aren’t in play yet,” Collins said, referencing the Tallgrass-Crusoe Project Jade, a giant AI data center that could use up to 2.7 gigawatts of electricity. That’s nearly triple the power use of all of Wyoming.
Still, he agreed the region lacks the capacity to absorb a major labor surge without additional housing.
“We just don’t have the capacity right now,” he said. “No hotel rooms, no Airbnbs. We’re going to have to find a place for them. I think we have significant workforce already, yes. But I think the workforce we need to build for is still coming.”
‘We Need Housing Yesterday’
County officials have been weighing whether it’s better to centralize temporary labor in a secured compound rather than disperse thousands of workers across local hotels, rentals and neighborhoods.
Arnold said no project of this scale has crossed his desk during his tenure.
“The county would really like to be able to start the initial phases of the project,” he said. “We need housing yesterday.”
One of the largest hurdles is infrastructure.
Collins said a development of this size would likely function better on city water and sewer services than relying on county aquifers.
A partnership between the city and county appears increasingly likely, even as officials continue sorting out logistics behind the scenes.
Collins told Cowboy State Daily that if conversations are underway, they are largely happening through city staff.
Charles Bloom, Cheyenne’s Planning and Development director, did not return Cowboy State Daily’s call or email prior to publication.
Arnold said keeping the project outside city limits could help preserve land for future residential growth while also avoiding delays tied to annexation.
“If the proposed area went through a city annexation process, it could be another 10 months before a shovel goes in the ground,” he said.
Tourism Industry Expects To Feel The Squeeze
The proposal reflects mounting pressure on Cheyenne’s already-tight lodging and housing market as large industrial and energy projects ramp up simultaneously.
Collins said that without the proposed man camp, Cheyenne’s tourism would take a hit.
“I can tell you I think our hotels are full. Our Airbnbs are full,” he said. “The opportunity lost with that is we’re going into our tourism season and there are not going to be places for people to stay here.”
Visit Cheyenne CEO Jim Walter said the influx of data center and other skilled labor workers is on the agency’s radar, but so far supply is holding with demand.
“As I look at demand for summertime, our hotels still have rooms available,” he told said, adding that the number of workers coming is going to outstrip available hotel rooms in Cheyenne.
“We spend a lot of time and effort and money to get tourists to come to Cheyenne,” he said, adding that if there is nowhere for them to stay, it’s going to hurt Cheyenne.
Walter said the influx of workers proved to be a benefit to Cheyenne’s industry, however. He reported seeing a 10% to 15% increase in revenue across the city’s hotel network because of workers at these large-scale projects.
“My hope is this increased demand makes us more attractive and brings one or two more hoteliers to Cheyenne,” he said.
‘Almost Like A Little City’
The proposed development could eventually expand far beyond simple dormitory-style housing.
Collins said discussions have included possible medical facilities, restaurants and other services designed to support a long-term temporary workforce.
“This is going to be almost like a little city,” he said.
Arnold said county leaders are also exploring broader policy changes aimed at accelerating development and attracting more workforce housing projects.
One possibility would involve zoning additional industrial business parks that could bypass portions of the Wyoming Industrial Siting process, potentially speeding approvals for projects exceeding $225 million.
“We have all kinds of different proposals coming before us,” Arnold said.
He said officials are trying to think creatively while balancing growth against impacts on the broader community.
“I wouldn’t be pushing this unless I knew the other option wouldn’t hurt the community,” Arnold said.
“We’re hoping we can cooperate with the city so we’re not kicking the can down the road another 10 months,” he added. “There are a lot of moving parts.”
A public hearing before the Laramie county Planning Commission is scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 p.m.