TheJobWalk E.51

Welcome to this week’s edition of TheJobWalk! Meta celebrates a major milestone with its 30th global data center, while Toyota powers up North Carolina with a $13.9B EV plant. Energy Storage Solutions plans a 900MW data center campus in NC, and Gilead Sciences breaks ground on a 180k sqft pharma facility in California. Meanwhile, Vantage Data Centers launches a $2B expansion in Fredericksburg, and OpenSpace completes the acquisition of Disperse. Let’s dive in!

NEWS
Meta Announces 30th Global Data Center

Meta has announced its 30th global data center, to be developed in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The AI-optimized facility will support the company’s expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The project includes over 700,000 square feet of data center space and represents an investment exceeding $1 billion. Meta expects to employ over 1,000 construction workers during peak activity and create more than 100 permanent operational roles. Additionally, the company is investing nearly $200 million in supporting infrastructure, including network upgrades and substations.

The facility will be designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification, use dry-cooling to eliminate water usage for cooling, and operate on 100% clean and renewable energy. Meta also plans to restore 570 acres of wetlands and prairie land, with 175 acres to be deeded to Ducks Unlimited.

TheJobWalk’s got eyes on this too...

📰 Turner-Walsh Top Out Ryan Field(Turner)
📰 Scout Motors Announced New HQ(NCGov)
📰 $13.9B Toyota Battery Plant in NC(NCGov)
📰 Clark-Herzog Breaks Ground on $705M Rail Yard(Clark)
📰 Shortage of TNT Increases Construction Costs(CNBC)

PROJECTS
Build of The Week

$17B Samsung Semiconductor, Texas

Samsung is moving ahead with its massive semiconductor campus in Taylor, Texas, a cornerstone of its US manufacturing strategy, with an estimated $17 billion investment in facilities and equipment.

There have been multiple general contractors on the build working around the clock, leading ENR firms such as Yates Construction, Hensel Phelps, and Austin Commercial.

The project broke ground in 2022, and Samsung expects the first phase to come online in late 2026. Once operational, the campus will support over 2,000 advanced manufacturing jobs.

• Owner/Client: Samsung Electronics

• General Contractor: Samsung E&C America, Inc.

• Sector: Semiconductor/Advanced Manufacturing

• Value: $17 Billion (initial minimum)

• Location: Taylor, Texas

Movement in the field:

⚙️North Carolina Just Got a $19.2B Digital Makeover: Earlier this month, Energy Storage Solutions revealed plans to build a 900MW data center campus in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. This investment is expected to be valued at $19.2B with approximately a 300-acre campus footprint, with one being built in Edgecombe County and the other in the Fayetteville region. Each campus is expected to support more than 1,000 employees during full build-out, with construction expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

Key Details: Client: Energy Storage Solutions, General Contractors: TBD, Award: Data Center, Value: $19.2 Billion, Location: Monroe, Louisiana

💊Big Pharma Gets Bigger, Gilead’s 180K Sqft Power Move: Gilead Sciences has broken ground on a new 180,000 sqft Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing Development Center at its headquarters in Foster City, California. This facility is a key part of the company’s larger plan to invest $32 billion in US manufacturing and innovation through 2030. The project was announced in September 2025, with construction expected to start soon.

Key Details: Owner/Client: Gilead Sciences, General Contractor: TBD, Sector: Advanced Manufacturing, Value: TBD, Location: Foster City, California

💥$2B Data Center Expansion Set for Virginia: Last week, Vantage Data Centers announced they are a $2B major expansion into their hyperscale data center campus in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The 192MW campus (VA4) will house three data centers on 82 acres, totalling approximately 929,000 square feet, bringing the company’s state-wide capacity to 782MW. The project is expected to create 1,100 construction jobs and at least 50 permanent operations jobs, with the first building expected to open late 2027.

Key Details: Client: Vantage Data Centers, General Contractors: DPR Construction, Award: Data Center, Value: $2 Billion, Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia

🔌From Quiet to Cable, Piqua’s Data Center Era Begins: J5 LLC, operating as Shaytura LLC, is planning a major data center development in Piqua, Ohio, located within the Piqua I-75 Business & Industrial Park, approximately 28 miles north of Dayton. The project will feature two data center buildings, each approximately 350,000 square feet, totaling 700,000 square feet of space across a 607-acre site. Construction on both buildings is set to overlap, with full buildout expected to take between 3 and 5 years.

Key Details: General Contractors: TBD, Client: J5 LLC (Shaytura LLC), Award: Data Center, Value: $1B+, Location: Piqua, Ohio

LOOKING TO HIRE? OR LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT ROLE?

We’ve launched TheJobWalkJobs, a hub designed specifically for the construction industry.

Built to connect you directly with the Estimators, Superintendents, Project managers, and Tradespeople who build America.

Hiring? Post FREE Unlimited Jobs

WORLD
22 Bishopsgate, London

22 Bishopsgate is a 62-storey commercial skyscraper in the City of London, standing 278 meters tall and serving as the financial district’s tallest building. Designed by PLP Architecture and delivered by Multiplex, it was developed by AXA IM in partnership with Lipton Rogers. 

The tower provides more than 1.2 million square feet of modern office, retail, and amenity space, built around the concept of a “vertical village” to meet the demands of contemporary corporate tenants. 

Construction began in 2016 after the collapse of the previous “Pinnacle” project, with the new team reusing the site’s existing foundations and partially completed core. The structure features a concrete jump-form core surrounded by a steel frame with long-span composite floors.

Completed in 2020, the total investment reached approximately £1 billion, with earlier sunk costs from the Pinnacle raising the site’s combined overall spend.

TECH SPOTLIGHT
OpenSpace Acquires Disperse

OpenSpace, a visual intelligence platform serving the construction industry, has acquired Disperse, a leading provider of construction progress tracking solutions.

This strategic acquisition integrates Disperse’s expert-verified analytics into OpenSpace’s existing AI-powered image capture system, creating a unified platform for jobsite documentation, analysis, and verified progress tracking.

The combined platform will allow construction teams to capture imagery, track work-in-place, validate billing, and compare actual progress to schedules using tools such as Oracle Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project, and Excel.

OpenSpace currently supports over 75,000 projects across 124 countries, documenting more than 52 billion square feet of built environment. The acquisition follows a successful partnership announced in June 2025, which saw strong customer adoption of OpenSpace Progress Tracking powered by Disperse.

QUICK FIRE ROUND
Your quiz questions for this week:

Which material is most commonly used for fire-rated shaft wall construction?

A. Double-layer gypsum board systems // B. CMU block // C. Steel panel cladding

What is the primary purpose of an expansion joint in large concrete structures?

A. Enhance thermal resistance // B. Allow movement due to temperature changes // C. Reduce load transfer between elements

Which type of transformer is typically used in high-rise commercial buildings for voltage step-down?

A. Pole-mounted transformer // B. Pad-mounted transformer // C. Dry-type transformer

What is a key advantage of using a Building Information Modeling (BIM) system?

A. Faster permit approvals // B. Real-time cost tracking only // C. Enhanced design coordination and clash detection

Which code governs energy efficiency standards for commercial buildings in the U.S.?

A. IBC // B. ASHRAE 90.1 // C. NFPA 101

Check out the answers at the bottom.

WEEKLY FUNNY
you report to me now.

REFLECTION
This week’s question to ask yourself✌️

Am I building a career that excites me for the next decade, or simply surviving for the next promotion cycle?

ANSWERS

Q1 A. Double-layer gypsum board systems // Q2 B. Allow movement due to temperature changes // Q3 C. Dry-type transformer // Q4 C. Enhanced design coordination and clash detection // Q5 B. ASHRAE 90.1

How many did you get?