TheJobWalk E.57

Welcome to this week’s edition of TheJobWalk! We’re so back, energized for what’s ahead, with a lot already in motion and plenty more coming. It’s shaping up to be a big year. We hope you had a great holiday season and a happy New Year. This week, SoftBank locks in a historic $41B investment in OpenAI, in Arizona, Mill Creek Residential breaks ground on Amavi Queen Creek, while Gilbane launches the 300,000 sqft Lionsgate Studios project. Texas adds momentum with a proposed hyperscale data center in San Marcos, Geisinger moves forward on an $880M hospital expansion in Pennsylvania, and Caterpillar rolls out its new Cat AI Assistant. Let’s dive in!

NEWS
$41 Billion OpenAI Funding Round Completed

SoftBank Group has completed its $41 billion investment in OpenAI, finalizing one of the largest private AI funding rounds in history.

The funding was executed in stages throughout 2025:

• $7.5 billion was invested in April

• $22.5 billion was completed in December

• An additional $11 billion came from syndicated co-investors

• The deal gives SoftBank an estimated 11% equity stake in OpenAI.

The investment was made into OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary, and supports SoftBank’s broader AI strategy, including related infrastructure like the “Stargate” AI data center initiative, developed with Oracle and others.

This funding round initially valued OpenAI at $300 billion post-money, but a later secondary sale in October 2025 valued it closer to $500 billion, per Pitchbook.

TheJobWalk’s got eyes on this too...

📰 Vantage & Liberty Energy Partnership(Vantage)
📰 Digital Realty Appoints Stephen Bolze as Director(Digital Realty)
📰 Luther Residents Protest 400-Acre Data Center(News9)
📰 Vistra Agrees to Acquire Cogentrix Energy(Reuters)
📰 Jacobs to Acquire Remaining Stake in PA Consulting(ENR)

PROJECTS
Build of The Week

$25B Mega Data Center Coming to Arizona

A major new AI data center campus has cleared a key zoning hurdle in Maricopa County Arizona. This opens the door for development on roughly 2,000 acres at Hassayampa Ranch in the West Valley near Phoenix.

The land was acquired in May 2025 by developer Anita Verma-Lallian with backing from investors including Chamath Palihapitiya.

The vision is for a massive AI compute hub that could attract hyperscalers and support up to 1.5GW of power capacity, with build out costs potentially reaching $25 billion at full scale.

• Owner/Developer: Hassayampa Ranch development team (Anita Verma-Lallian (MBA) & partners)

• General Contractor: TBD

• Sector: AI Data Center/Digital Infrastructure

• Estimated Value: $25 Billion

• Location: Hassayampa Ranch, Maricopa County, Arizona

Movement in the field:

🌵 Queen Creek Gets a Rental Glow-Up: Mill Creek Residential has broken ground on Amavi Queen Creek, a new single family build to rent community in Queen Creek’s Phoenix East Valley. The development will feature 166 three bedroom town homes, each averaging 1,523 sqft with modern amenities and private garages equipped for EV charging. The community includes resort style amenities such as a pool, clubhouse, fitness studio, walking trails, and outdoor games areas. First move ins are expected in spring 2027.

Developer: Mill Creek Residential, Sector: Residential, Value: TBD, Location: Queen Creek, Arizona

🦁 From Blueprints to Blockbusters: Gilbane Building Company has broken ground on Lionsgate Newark, a 300,000 square foot film and television production complex located on a 12 acre site in Newark, New Jersey. The facility will include sound stages, production support space, offices, and on site parking for 145 cars, 22 trucks/trailers, and 11 RVs. The project is backed by Great Point Studios in partnership with NJPAC and the Newark Housing Authority.

General Contractor: Gilbane Building Company, Client: Great Point Studios, Award: Commercial, Value: Not disclosed, Location: Newark, New Jersey

⚡ Big Bytes Coming to San Marcos: A new hyperscale data center project is proposed in San Marcos, Texas. The project, currently in the planning and zoning phase, is advancing through local regulatory review with a zoning decision expected in Q1 2026. The development would span approximately 200 acres and include up to five buildings, with a potential of up to 380 MW of power capacity. The estimated investment for the project is $1.5 billion, making it a major new data center initiative in Central Texas.

Developer: Highlander SM One LLC + local landowners, Sector: Data Center, Estimated Value: $1.5 Billion, Location: San Marcos, Texas

🏥 Danville’s Diagnosis? Major Expansion Incoming!: Geisinger has officially broken ground on an $880 million expansion and modernization project at its flagship campus in Danville, Pennsylvania. The project includes the construction of a new 11 story hospital tower, which will feature a larger emergency department (expanding from 45 to 60 beds), 100% private rooms for adult medical surgical patients, updated operating suites, and intensive care units. A multi-level parking garage will also be added for improved access. Foundation work is set to begin in summer 2026, with project completion targeted for 2029.

Client: Geisinger, General Contractor: TBD, Sector: Hospital Expansion, Value: $880 Million, Location: Danville, Pennsylvania

What Our Premium Subscribers Are Reading:

🔒 Skybox Datacenters New Campus
🔒 Rowan Digitals 300MW Campus
🔒 $505M Florida Water Pipeline
🔒 Las Vegas Convention Center JV
🔒 & more!

TECH SPOTLIGHT
Caterpillar Introduces Cat AI Assistant

Caterpillar has announced the launch of the Cat AI Assistant, an advanced AI-powered digital tool designed to simplify and enhance customer interaction with Caterpillar equipment and digital systems.

Unveiled at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the Cat AI Assistant integrates Caterpillar’s digital applications and 16+ petabytes of equipment data into a single conversational interface. It supports multiple input types, including voice, text, images, and video, and provides real time support for maintenance, operations, purchasing, and fleet management.

The AI assistant is powered by Caterpillar’s Helios data platform and runs on NVIDIA Jetson Thor, enabling real time, edge deployed speech and AI capabilities. It will be available off-board in Q1 2026, with in cab features currently in final validation.

WORLD
The Sydney Opera House, Australia

The Sydney Opera House, one of the most iconic architectural landmarks in the world, was constructed on Bennelong Point in Sydney, Australia.

The project began in March 1959 and took 14 years to complete, officially opening on October 20, 1973. Originally estimated to cost $7 million AUD, the final cost ballooned to $102 million AUD, over 1,300% over budget.

The structure includes over 1,000 rooms, with the main Concert Hall seating up to 2,679 people. The roof comprises 2,194 precast concrete segments, weighing up to 15 tons each.

Sydney Operas’ build was led by Civil & Civic, with the design made by the famous architect Jørn Utzon. At peak construction, over 1,000 workers were employed on-site.

QUICK FIRE ROUND
Your quiz questions for this week:

What is the most common reason for failure in post-tensioned concrete systems?

A. Over-tensioning tendons // B. Corrosion of cables // C. Poor concrete mix design

Which electrical component is used to prevent overload in branch circuits?

A. Capacitor // B. Step-down transformer // C. Circuit breaker

What is the purpose of commissioning in mechanical systems?

A. To finalize architectural designs // B. To optimize energy use and verify system performance // C. To inspect structural steel installations

Which standard governs fire-resistance ratings of building materials?

A. ASTM E119 // B. ASHRAE 90.1 // C. NEC Article 250

What is the function of a geotechnical report in early-stage construction?

A. Estimate labor costs // B. Determine energy efficiency // C. Analyze soil conditions and foundation recommendations

Check out the answers at the bottom.

WEEKLY FUNNY
ain’t nobody got time for thattt

REFLECTION
This week’s question to ask yourself✌️

What would make 2026 a great year?

ANSWERS

Q1 B. Corrosion of cables // Q2 C. Circuit breaker // Q3 B. To optimize energy use and verify system performance // Q4 A. ASTM E119 // Q5 C. Analyze soil conditions and foundation recommendations

How many did you get?