Google is gearing up for a major expansion of its data centers in North Texas, with plans to spend $880 million on a new facility at its existing Midlothian campus.
Filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation indicate the search engine giant will build a one‑story data center at 3800 Railport Parkway, the Dallas Morning News reported. The project, referred to as Sharka Data Center – Building 5, will include the core, shell, interior finishes and site improvements.
Construction is scheduled to begin in January and be completed by February 2027, though details remain preliminary.
Midlothian Mayor Justin Coffman cited Google’s local contributions to water conservation, job creation and economic growth. The Mountain View, California-based company first established a presence in Midlothian in 2019 through its Alamo Mission shell company, purchasing 375 acres in Ellis County, and later acquiring another 165 acres for future development, according to data center research firm Baxtel. In 2023, the company announced plans for another data center in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metro market on 165 acres in nearby Red Oak.
The region south of Dallas has gained interest from data center builders because two major power lines run through it. Compass Datacenters and DataBank have both invested in the market, and entrepreneur Ross Perot Jr. has opined that Texas is a good fit for data centers because they consume enormous amounts of energy.
The Midlothian expansion is part of Google’s larger strategy in Texas. The company has pledged $40 billion in investments statewide through 2027, including projects in Midlothian, Red Oak and three additional data centers planned for West Texas and the Panhandle.
The surge in data center development reflects rising demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Cushman & Wakefield reported that in 2025, data centers and related industries accounted for 21 percent of new demand in warehouse and distribution properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. CBRE projects that Dallas‑Fort Worth’s data center inventory will more than double by the end of 2026, with at least 605 megawatts of projects under construction.
— Joel Russell
