Port Washington data center, effort to save buildings in project site
Moving buildings for the upcoming data center
A new data center in Port Washington is set to be finished by 2028. Hundreds of acres of land will be cleared out for new construction. Now, there are efforts to save some of the buildings within the project footprint.
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. - A new data center in Port Washington is set to be finished by 2028. Hundreds of acres of land will be cleared out for new construction. Now, there are efforts to save some of the buildings within the project footprint.
Saving structures
What we know:
It seems like a rush against the clock at one property in Port Washington.
"We’re just trying to save buildings," said David Devooght with Devooght House Movers.
Devooght and his crew are getting a pole barn off County Road LL ready for a big move.
Working to move a pole barn
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"We’ll just rig it up like a big oversized load," he added.
It's one of several properties within the 670-acre footprint of the Vantage Data Center Project.
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Land in the area is being cleared out to make way for four new buildings.
Devooght is trying to save some of the ones already here.
"We’ll use a hydraulic system there that’s on the truck," he said.
Devooght House Movers
Rather than tear them down, he's moving them out fully intact," he added. "We have our load of steel beams, we have some wheels over there to go underneath."
About two days of preparation are required for this particular property here, which includes putting in the metal beams and getting the tires underneath before it's picked up and moved away.
"We’ll actually lift the building up, and then we’ll attach the wheels," he said.
Devooght House Movers
This crew has already moved another pole barn three miles away.
Devooght thinks about a dozen buildings around the rea can still be salvaged.
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"That’s all we’re here to do. Just see them saved versus going to the landfill," he said.
Devooght House Movers
They're trying to preserve what's left, before it's wiped away.
Devooght says the cost of moving the buildings can sometimes be cheaper than buying new materials.
The last pole barn he moved cost about $8,500.
The Source: Information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.