TheJobWalk E.64

WSP closes its TRC acquisition, AWS commits $12B to Louisiana data centers, Smithfield advances a $1.3B Sioux Falls plant, and UC Davis Health tops out its $3.7B tower. Google plans a 480-acre Minnesota data hub, SUNY moves forward on a $1.1B hospital project, and Autodesk invests $200M in World Labs. Let’s dive in!

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WSP Global has completed its acquisition of TRC Companies, strengthening its foothold across U.S. infrastructure and energy markets. TRC brings over 55 years of experience and roughly 8,000 professionals, with a particular depth in Power & Energy. The deal fits within WSP's 2025-2027 Global Strategic Action Plan.

With TRC on board, WSP becomes the leading Power & Energy platform in the United States and the largest engineering and design firm in the country by revenue. Their reach spans power, water, environmental services, infrastructure, and digital solutions.

The acquisition positions WSP to meet growing demand for resilient energy systems. With advisory, engineering, and program management now under one roof, the firm is better equipped to deliver complex infrastructure programs at scale and deepen client relationships across the U.S.

Driving this week’s edition is SiteFuel, the national fuel logistics and technology partner powering North America’s largest datacenter and mega-construction projects.

Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, SiteFuel has become the mission-critical standard for the contractors and developers building the future of infrastructure.

They specialize in the complex energy demands of Large-Scale Datacenter Construction, Mega-Infrastructure sites, and Enterprise Fleet operations, ensuring that the machines building our digital and physical world never stop moving.

What sets SiteFuel apart is its proprietary fuel management platform, delivering real-time visibility, automated reporting, and precise fuel-drop verification.

For teams managing $1B+ projects, this translates to full cost transparency, strict safety compliance, and the elimination of operational downtime.

Amazon Web Services is investing $12 billion to build a multi-site data center campus across Caddo and Bossier Parishes in northwest Louisiana. Stack Infrastructure is leading development and construction, with up to 1,500 construction jobs expected. The facilities are designed to support AI infrastructure and cloud computing as Amazon expands capacity to meet rising demand.

Amazon is funding 100% of new and upgraded power infrastructure through a partnership with Southwestern Electric Power Company. They have also invested in Louisiana solar projects bringing up to 200MW of carbon-free energy onto the grid, and are committing up to $400 million toward public water infrastructure improvements.

Cooling systems are designed to rely on air roughly 87% of the year, with water-based systems running less than 13% of the time using verified surplus supply only. The project is expected to create 540 direct full-time roles and support approximately 1,710 community positions, including electricians, HVAC technicians, and security specialists.

Smithfield Foods is moving forward with approvals for a new packaged meats and fresh pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at Foundation Park. The project represents up to a $1.3 billion investment over three years. Site work could begin in spring 2026, with groundbreaking in the first half of 2027 and production targeted by end of 2028, pending permitting and board approval.

UC Davis Health has topped out the 14-story California Tower at 45th and X streets in Sacramento, marking a major milestone in its $3.7 billion Vision 2030 campus expansion. Led by McCarthy Building Companies, the 1 million square foot project will add 334 inpatient beds, new operating rooms, imaging and burn care space, with a completion targeted for 2030.

The State University of New York has approved a construction contract for the $1.1 billion modernization of SUNY Downstate's hospital in Brooklyn. Initial work includes demolishing a condemned parking garage to clear space for a new annex housing and ambulatory surgery center for cardiology and oncology. The broader program expands the emergency department, converts double rooms to private rooms with showers, and upgrades MEP systems.

Google is planning its first Minnesota data center on a 480-acre site in Pine Island to support AI and cloud operations. Construction has not started and remains subject to Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approval of a utility agreement with Xcel Energy. Google would fund all transmission infrastructure and electricity costs, backed by 1,400 MW of wind, 200 MW of solar, and 300 MW of battery storage. It is expected to be online by 2028-2029.

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Good Samaritan Plans $2B-$3B Waterfront Hospital Overhaul in West Palm Beach

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Amazon Eyes $5B Data Center Campus in Texas

Jeddah Central is a SAR 75 billion ($20 billion) downtown and waterfront redevelopment in Jeddah, backed by the Public Investment Fund and additional investors. Announced December 17, 2021, the plan spans 5.7 million square meters along 9.5 kilometers of Red Sea waterfront, including a 2.1 kilometer sandy beach and marina. The government projects SAR 47 billion in economic impact by 2030.

The development is structured in three phases: 45% delivered by end of 2027, 36% by 2030, and 19% after 2030. Phase 1 includes four landmarks, an Opera House, Museum, Sports Stadium, and Oceanarium with coral farms. Alongside 17,000 residential units and more than 2,700 hotel rooms.

In February 2024, SAR 12 billion in contracts were awarded for Phase 1 construction. China Harbor Engineering Arabia secured utilities works. A China Railway Construction Corporation and Sama consortium won the stadium, and Modern Building Leaders took the Opera House and Oceanarium. The project is projected to create approximately 25,000 jobs.

On February 18th, Autodesk announced a $200 million strategic investment in World Labs, a frontier AI research company co-founded by Dr. Fei-Fei Li and a team of leading AI researchers. The partnership centers on advancing physical world AI, systems capable of understanding geometry, space, materials, physics, and time. The goal is of enhancing human creativity in design and construction, not replacing it.

Autodesk believes real impact in architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing requires AI that can reason in 3D environments and work within real-world constraints. World Labs is developing multimodal world models that generate and understand persistent, realistic 3D spaces, grounded in Autodesk's decades of expertise in geometry, simulation, and professional workflows.

Autodesk will serve as a strategic advisor at the research and model level, deepening its long-term AI capabilities. The company sees physical world AI as a critical tool for improving efficiency, collaboration, and how the built environment is imagined and delivered.