According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, a Wisconsin family has agreed to sell 407 acres of their land, which includes a local pumpkin farm attraction, to Microsoft for a total of $76 million. As part of an agreement with the Foxconn Technology Group, the local government first offered the Creuziger family in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, about a third of that value in 2017. But the family declined, preferring to wait for a better offer.
“The family wishes the village and Microsoft well, and they would appreciate people respecting their privacy,” according to the family’s attorney, David Barnes, to the Business Journal.
Microsoft’s compensation is far greater than the land’s current value. The Creuziger family’s farm was originally valued at $174,200 in 2023, but increased to $598,400 following modifications, according to Mount Pleasant village assessor Dan McHugh.
The property, which includes the Land of the Giants pumpkin farm and a nine-acre corn maze, is adjacent to another 641 acres purchased by Microsoft from the village of Mount Pleasant for a total of $99.7 million. Microsoft’s ultimate goal is to establish a data center campus in the area, in which it wants to invest more than $1 billion.
Overall, the transaction represents a good ending for the community after years of confusion and confusing messages from Foxconn. Only two years ago, Foxconn substantially reduced its anticipated $10 billion investment in Mount Pleasant, which would have featured a cutting-edge manufacturing plant.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Microsoft intends to hire 200 people at its Mount Pleasant data center initially, with the potential to grow to over 460 jobs over time. However, it will only be a fraction of the 13,000 jobs that Foxconn promised the area in 2017.
