ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Oakland University is exploring whether a parking lot can power its next phase of growth.

The university is moving forward with a proposal to develop a 26-megawatt data center on campus, tapping unused land and nearby electrical infrastructure as demand for computing capacity continues to rise.

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Ohio-based Fairmount Properties has been chosen as the university’s partner for the proposed project, which would sit on Parking Lot 35 near a DTE substation on the southwest edge of campus. 

If built, the facility would allow OU to shift its existing data center out of Dodge Hall, clearing space for expanded research and a new artificial intelligence institute. Administrators stressed the proposal is not a hyperscale data center, the massive, energy-intensive facilities often built for a single tech company.

“While OU may attract hyperscale-level tenants, this is not a hyperscale data center,” Penny Vigneau, OU’s executive director for economic development, said. “Hyperscale data centers (are) those are extremely large facilities with thousands of servers. This is not that.”

Fairmount would finance construction and coordinate with the university on tenant selection, though officials caution the plan is preliminary. 

OU expects to launch a feasibility review in the coming weeks to assess environmental conditions, utility capacity, broadband availability, and market interest.

“It will be a very transparent process, but we are only at the start right now,” Steven Mackey, OU’s senior vice president for finance and administration, said.