Microsoft Secures Land Rezoning Approval for Potential Nevada Data Center Expansion
November 30, 2025
In a strategic move to consolidate its land holdings for future infrastructure development, Microsoft has received a key regulatory approval in Nevada. The decision highlights the ongoing land rush by hyperscale cloud providers in strategic Western U.S. markets to secure sites capable of supporting massive, power-intensive data center campuses.
The Lyon County Planning Commission has approved Microsoft's application to merge and resubdivide six parcels of land it owns in Silver Springs, Nevada. The tech giant sought to consolidate the six separate lots, which it purchased in January 2023 for $16.425 million, into three larger, more contiguous parcels. The combined property spans approximately 274 acres.
According to the approved tentative parcel map, the restructured land will comprise three lots: a primary parcel of 223.18 acres, a second of 32.6 acres, and a third of 18.7 acres. The land is zoned for neighborhood-commercial or employment uses and is situated directly opposite the Silver Springs Airport. Senior planner Lewis Cariella noted that any future development on the site would require roadway and utility improvements, and that the terrain has an average slope of around four percent, reaching up to 20 percent in northern sections.
While Microsoft has not publicly disclosed specific plans for the Silver Springs property, a company spokesperson previously stated, following the 2023 purchase, that the acquisition was part of the company's efforts to "continue expanding our cloud infrastructure." The approval for land consolidation is widely viewed as a preparatory step for a potential data center build. Notably, Microsoft does not currently operate a cloud region in Nevada, making the state a potential new frontier for its infrastructure footprint.
The move aligns with broader industry activity in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area, which has become a major data center hub due to its tax incentives, available land, and connectivity. Other tech giants like Switch, Apple, eBay, and Google already operate facilities in the region. In a significant parallel development earlier this year, data center park developer Tract acquired over 1,000 acres of land just north of Microsoft's Silver Springs parcels, signaling intense competition for scalable sites. Furthermore, in April 2025, Microsoft spent $70.5 million to acquire an additional 300 acres in the nearby Victory Logistics District in Fernley, Nevada, though the purpose of that land was also not specified.
These consecutive land acquisitions and the latest rezoning success underscore Microsoft's methodical approach to securing and preparing large-scale land banks. For the data center industry, such approvals are critical pathfinders, often preceding major capital investment announcements and indicating where the next wave of cloud computing capacity will be built to meet soaring demand from artificial intelligence and enterprise digital transformation.
Source: datacenterdynamics
Microsoft Secures Land Rezoning Approval for Potential Nevada Data Center Expansion
