Verrus subsidiary Alderstone filed plans Friday for two data center buildings covering 600,000 square feet on 100.2 acres in southeast Salem.
Salem City Council will meet in a special session Monday night to decide whether to begin work on a temporary moratorium and new zoning rules for artificial intelligence data centers.
The meeting comes three days after Alderstone LLC, a subsidiary of data center developer Verrus, submitted a formal land-use application for its Oakline at Mill Creek project. The city lists the application as pending.
The filing seeks approval for two one-story data center buildings with a combined footprint of 600,000 square feet, along with equipment yards, parking areas and a separate lot for a future electrical substation. The application covers three properties at 4610, 4625 and 4720 Mill Creek Drive SE.
The three sites total 100.2 acres and are listed as vacant. Capstone Mill Creek Logistics LLC and Scannell Properties are identified as the property owners. The application places the project valuation at $394 million and includes a Class 3 site plan review, a replat, a zoning adjustment and two driveway approaches.
That filing is different from the concept Verrus initially presented publicly, which called for as many as three buildings on roughly 75 acres and more than $5 billion in potential investment. Verrus has not yet announced whether the two-building application represents a revised campus or the first phase of a larger development.
Filing follows state land decision
The application was submitted Friday, one day after Gov. Tina Kotek directed the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to terminate its contract to sell approximately 32 acres of state-owned land at the Mill Creek Corporate Center for the proposed data center.
Kotek said economic growth and technology investment must make sense for the surrounding community, infrastructure and natural resources. The three properties included in Alderstone’s new filing are owned by private companies rather than the state.
What council will decide tonight
Council’s agenda calls for consideration of Resolution 2026-36, which would initiate a moratorium on AI data centers and begin amendments to Salem’s zoning code regulating the facilities.
Tonight’s decision is not a vote to approve or deny Oakline. The immediate question is whether Salem should begin the legal and planning process needed to pause certain data center development while permanent regulations are considered.
A major unresolved issue is how any future moratorium would affect Alderstone’s pending application. The filing was submitted before tonight’s meeting, but the city has not approved it or assigned a case number. Its status and the final wording of any moratorium could determine whether the proposal continues through the existing review process.
The special meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Loucks Auditorium inside Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty St. SE. The city is preparing for higher-than-normal attendance. In-person testimony registration will be open from 5 to 6 p.m., and the meeting will also be streamed online