El Mirage is getting a major addition to the Valley’s digital infrastructure. Compass Datacenters is building a campus near El Mirage Road and Peoria Avenue, bringing substantial investment and the potential for skilled, well-paying jobs to the West Valley.
For Arizona real estate investors, the significance extends beyond one construction site. Projects like this strengthen Phoenix’s position as a technology hub and help prepare the region for an economy increasingly powered by data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
What Is Being Built in El Mirage?
- Location: Near El Mirage Road and Peoria Avenue, just north of City Hall.
- Developer: Compass Datacenters.
- Site: Nearly 121 acres.
- Buildings: The reported plan includes three single-story buildings of approximately 208,000 square feet each, about 624,000 square feet combined.
- Capacity: Compass lists the El Mirage campus at 108 megawatts.
- Land investment: More than $79 million paid for the property. This is the land purchase price, not the total development cost.
- Timeline: Construction is proceeding in phases, with a reported opening target of 2027. A firm opening date for the entire campus has not been confirmed.
Fewer Jobs, but Valuable Jobs
Data centers operate with relatively small permanent teams for their size. However, headcount alone misses part of their economic contribution.
These facilities need specialized workers to keep critical equipment running around the clock. Technical and management roles can offer strong wages, while construction and ongoing maintenance create opportunities for skilled trades and local service businesses.
The potential benefits include:
- Well-paying careers in technical operations and facility management.
- Work for electrical, mechanical, cooling, and maintenance contractors.
- Local spending by employees and businesses supporting the campus.
- A deeper pool of expertise that can support future technology investment.
A current, confirmed staffing and wage breakdown for the El Mirage campus has not been published in the materials reviewed. Still, the combination of skilled employment and lasting infrastructure makes this a meaningful addition to the West Valley’s economy.
Part of a Valleywide Data Center Expansion
We have covered several projects that show how broadly this investment is spreading:
- Mesa: Our coverage of Novva’s planned $3 billion data center campus explored another major investment in the East Valley’s technology infrastructure.
- Phoenix: PhoenixNAP’s planned PHX02 expansion outlined a 530,000-square-foot facility serving growing demand for digital services.
- West Valley: The proposed Hassayampa Ranch data center development illustrated the scale of interest in land and infrastructure west of Phoenix.
These projects are at different stages, but together they show the geographic reach of the Valley’s data center investment. Compass also lists a separate 212-megawatt campus in Goodyear.
Our view: building this infrastructure positions Phoenix to participate more deeply in the data economy. The opportunity includes the facilities themselves, the people who operate them, and the businesses that serve them.
Power and Water Remain Important
Reliable electricity and responsible water use are essential to making this growth sustainable.
Compass says its campuses use no municipal water for cooling, relying on air cooling and closed-loop systems. That is a company-wide statement; a verified water-use forecast for the El Mirage site was not available in the materials reviewed.
For investors, utility readiness and construction progress are useful indicators of when a planned campus can begin contributing to the local economy.
What This Means for West Valley Rental Owners
For single-family rental investors, this is an encouraging long-term economic signal. Higher-paying employment and a broader mix of industries can support housing demand over time.
The practical approach is to:
- Watch actual hiring and opening milestones when evaluating future demand.
- Consider commute access, neighborhood amenities, and competing rental inventory.
- Price homes using current comparable rentals.
- Maintain clean, safe, functional homes that appeal to relocating households and local residents alike.
Phoenix is adding the infrastructure needed to compete in the data economy. For rental owners, the opportunity is to pair confidence in that long-term direction with disciplined decisions about each property.
Home Ladder’s El Mirage property management services help owners evaluate rental pricing, prepare their homes, and manage the day-to-day work of ownership.