Skybox Data Centers announced as developer of Wichita Falls’ first data center

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - At a press conference led by Forward Wichita Falls this afternoon, city leaders announced that Skybox Data Centers will develop the first large-scale data center campus in Wichita Falls, which they call Power Campus.

According to officials, Skybox purchased the 225-acre property at the Wichita Falls Business Park from the city for more than $14.5 million, marking what leaders are calling the largest industrial announcement in Wichita Falls history. Representatives with Skybox estimate the project could double or even triple the city’s tax base once fully built out.

City Manager Jeff Jenkins said the expanded tax base could directly benefit residents.

“It’s a huge impact by broadening the tax base and not having to put it all on other businesses or residential tax rates to help afford everything that we’re needing now and what we might need in the future,” Jenkins said.

City officials also shared they contacted the city of Abilene to learn from challenges faced during that city’s data center development. Officials said those conversations helped create clear and attainable goals while keeping residents’ best interests in mind.

The campus will focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Company representative Haynes Strader said Skybox expects to hire between 200 and 350 employees to operate the seven-building facility.

“Our goal would be to hire as many local folks as we possibly can; that’s certainly our first priority, and we’re going to spend as much time on that as we can. These are technical jobs: electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineers and hardware engineers. We’ve been able to find a lot of those jobs locally, and I’m hopeful we’ll have the same opportunities here,” Strader said.

Water usage has been a major concern among residents. When asked about those concerns, Strader addressed how the facility would use water.

“Our average use is four homes per building - per 150,000-square-foot building. There are different technologies and different ways to do it, so it’s somewhere in that range on water use. The average household consumes 1,200 gallons per month, so that’s a good metric to weigh that,” Strader said.

Skybox representatives also said any infrastructure changes needed to support the data center will be paid for by the company, not Wichita Falls residents.

Under the current timeline, the first building could be operational by late 2028, with additional buildings coming online approximately every six months after that.