Mortenson is the general contractor for Meta’s Beaver Dam data center and the starting point for construction inquiries. Its trade-partner form lets companies name the project and their proposed work.[1][3] For job seekers, this guide links to five Mortenson listings checked on October 21, 2026, with roles in project management, engineering and field supervision. Their application screens were accessible, but the listings do not name Meta or confirm remaining vacancies.
Contractors can use the inquiry route below to ask about their trade. Workers can go straight to the employer links or apprenticeship section. No open Beaver Dam bid package or project-specific union dispatch was verified.
Beaver Dam data center at a glance
| Project detail | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Owner | Meta.[1] |
| Location | Beaver Dam Commerce Park, Dodge County, Wisconsin, near U.S. Highway 151, Hemlock Road and County Highways A and W.[5][27] |
| General contractor | Mortenson.[1] |
| Named mechanical contractor | Helm: HVAC, plumbing and piping.[7] |
| Announced investment | More than $1 billion, according to WEDC’s November 2025 announcement.[5] |
| Building space | More than 700,000 square feet of campus building space.[5] |
| Site work | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s July 24, 2026 video report describes construction continuing.[26] |
| Expected opening | Initial data center online in 2027, according to the city’s November 2025 forecast.[6] |
| Work routes checked | Mortenson contractor inquiries and five advertised professional roles, October 21, 2026. |
Where is the Beaver Dam data center?
The project is at Beaver Dam Commerce Park in Dodge County, Wisconsin.[5] Alliant Energy’s park location sheet places it near U.S. Highway 151, Hemlock Road and County Highways A and W.[27] This identifies the area, not a construction entrance. Ask your employer or site contact for the assigned gate and check-in instructions before traveling.
The park sheet dates to 2018 and marketed 520 acres.[27] It is useful for orientation, but it is not a current survey of Meta’s project boundary. We have not verified a complete campus parcel total or a public worker entrance. The 570-acre restoration commitment discussed below is a separate land-use figure.[1][5]
Has construction started, and when will it open?
Construction is underway in dated reporting, while 2027 remains the forecast for the initial opening. WPR reported site work already underway at the November 2025 announcement.[28] Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s July 24, 2026 video report describes construction continuing at the Beaver Dam campus.[26] These reports establish activity on their stated dates, not today’s crew size, percentage complete or remaining trade packages.
The city’s fact sheet expects the initial data center online in 2027 and describes a second phase as potential.[6] Contractors should ask the project team about the schedule for their specific scope. A campus opening forecast does not tell a concrete, piping or commissioning firm when its work starts.
What is Meta building in Beaver Dam?
Meta’s first Wisconsin data center is at Alliant Energy’s Beaver Dam Commerce Park in Dodge County.[1][5] WEDC’s November 2025 announcement describes more than $1 billion in investment and over 700,000 square feet of campus building space.[5] The square footage describes buildings, not land.[5]
WEDC projected more than 1,000 skilled trade workers at peak construction and more than 100 operational jobs afterward.[5] These employment forecasts are not a count of jobs available now.[5]
The city projects taxable land and improvements above $300 million for the first phase and above $600 million for a potential full buildout.[6] Those are taxable property values, not construction budgets.[5][6] WPR also reported a conditional city agreement for developer-funded municipal bonds of up to $110 million, split between up to $10 million for public infrastructure and up to $100 million for private project costs.[28] That agreement is not proof the bonds were issued or that those sums remain available for contracts.
Meta and WEDC describe 570 acres of wetland and prairie restoration around the data centers, including 175 acres intended for Ducks Unlimited and partners.[1][5] Those acres describe restoration work, not campus building area.[1][5]
Beaver Dam is separate from the Oracle-linked development covered in our Port Washington contractor and jobs report. Use the data-center construction report index to compare projects without mixing their builders, schedules or hiring routes.
How contractors can approach Mortenson
Mortenson says trade partners must complete prequalification to become eligible to bid or contract, and identifies TradeTapp as its platform for ongoing qualification.[2] Its public prequalification inquiry form asks for company and contact details, a message, and any specific office, industry or project of interest.[3]
Name the Beaver Dam project and explain your proposed scope in that project field. Prepare a short account of your relevant work, service area and available capacity. Submitting the message does not complete TradeTapp qualification, secure an invitation to bid or award a contract.[2][3]
The separate bid-list contact form asks for the date of a previous prequalification submission and the scope of work.[4] Its group selector includes Civil, Power Delivery and Milwaukee, but did not include Data Centers when checked.[4] Do not treat those choices as a list of open Beaver Dam packages. Use the project-specific inquiry to ask which team handles your trade, whether work remains to be procured and how invitations are issued.
For any proposed package, confirm the scope, drawings, due date, bonding and insurance requirements with the responsible buyer before pricing it. General bidder eligibility and an actual project invitation are separate steps. The sources reviewed did not identify a current Beaver Dam package solicitation or a complete subcontractor roster.
Which trade contractors are named?
Helm identifies Beaver Dam HVAC, plumbing and piping work on its own project page. Its description includes facility, technology and condenser water systems, dry coolers, modular central utility plants, and administration and logistics buildings.[7]
Helm describes the facility as 150+ MW with more than 50,000 tons of cooling.[7] These are Helm’s project figures, not measured operating capacity.[7] Its page describes its work but does not invite bids from other firms.[7]
For a mechanical supplier or specialist, Helm is therefore a named firm to research rather than evidence of an open order. Confirm whether your work belongs with Mortenson, Helm or another trade contractor before sending a proposal.
Five Mortenson construction job leads
The following employer pages displayed Beaver Dam, WI | Data Center Group on October 21. Each linked to an Oracle application screen with the matching title and ID. The descriptions do not name Meta. Treat them as local job leads and confirm the assignment and availability with Mortenson.
| Employer listing | Application ID | Work described |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Project Manager, Self-Perform[13] | 22231 | Coordination of self-perform construction, field execution, cost and schedule. |
| Project Engineer I – Mechanical[15] | 22684 | Mechanical project engineering. |
| Assistant Superintendent[16] | 23397 | Field operations, labor, equipment and sequencing. |
| Senior Superintendent I[17] | 22122 | Construction field leadership. |
| Project Engineer II – Mechanical[18] | 23282 | Mechanical project engineering. |
These are supervision, engineering and management roles, not electrician, laborer or operator dispatch calls. Read the full description for experience requirements and travel expectations before applying. For permanent data-center operations work, Meta directs applicants to Meta Careers.[1] We have not verified a separate set of Meta operating-job vacancies for this guide.
The Self-Perform Assistant Project Manager posting asks for at least five years of construction experience and lists a base-pay range of $102,000 to $137,700, with location adjustments and individual placement factors.[13] That is one posting’s advertised range, not a wage schedule for every role or trade on the project.
Apprenticeships and craft referral
IBEW Local 159’s apprenticeship page explains application, testing, interviews and a ranked applicant list.[19] Contractors request apprentices from that list when needed.[19] Admission is a training opportunity, not a promise of a Beaver Dam placement.[19]
The South Central Wisconsin Building Trades Council lists apprenticeship paths across trades.[20] Wisconsin Laborers provides an apprenticeship search, while IUOE Local 139 distinguishes organizing for current workers from operating-engineer training for new entrants.[21][22] Wisconsin DWD explains that construction apprenticeship procedures vary by occupation and local committee.[23]
Check the relevant program’s territory, qualifications and current intake before traveling. We did not verify a publicly accessible Beaver Dam-specific union call. Journeyworkers should use the applicable hall’s referral process, not the project’s projected peak workforce, to determine whether work is available.
Power infrastructure and building permits
WEDC says Meta will underwrite nearly $200 million in energy-network upgrades, including substations and transmission lines.[5] This announced commitment does not identify available electrical contracts.[5]
PSC docket 137-CE-210 covers American Transmission Company’s Dodge County interconnection project, including a new double-circuit 138 kV line and reconstruction of an existing line between the North Randolph and Manhattan substation areas.[8] The PSC issued its final decision in November 2025.[8] The schedule then called for work to start in January 2026 and finish by July 2027.[8] Those dates describe the utility project, not a verified current campus construction schedule.[8]
The separate docket 6680-TE-115 concerns Alliant’s electric service agreement.[9] The PSC’s May 2026 release describes changes to the proposed terms and added protections.[9] It calls these preliminary verbal decisions, with the final order to follow.[9] We have not verified that later order here. The same release states that the PSC does not issue permits to build or operate data centers.[9]
The city publishes building-permit information and commercial plan-review procedures.[11][12] These explain city review and the involvement of Wisconsin DSPS/E-Plan for larger projects; they do not supply a verified project-specific permit inventory.[12] A utility approval, developer agreement and issued building permit should not be treated as the same authorization.
What the cooling claims mean
WEDC describes dry cooling with no operational cooling-water demand.[5] The city’s fact sheet says the closed-loop liquid-cooled system uses zero cooling water for a majority of the year and lists no new wells.[6] These statements differ in wording and scope; neither supports a claim of zero total water use. The city’s FAQ says projected water and wastewater demand fits available municipal capacity.[10]
For firms pricing cooling or utility work, the project specifications matter more than a simplified water claim. Helm’s published piping and cooling scope is useful context, but bidders still need the applicable design documents and procurement instructions.[7]
Frequently asked questions
Who is building Meta’s Beaver Dam data center?
Meta names Mortenson as general contractor.[1] Helm separately identifies its HVAC, plumbing and piping work.[7] The sources reviewed do not name every subcontractor.
Can my company bid on Beaver Dam work now?
No open project-specific package or bid deadline was verified. Mortenson accepts project inquiries through its prequalification form; qualification is not an invitation or award.[2][3] Ask the responsible team about your scope before preparing a bid.
Are the listed Mortenson jobs confirmed Meta vacancies?
No. The five employer pages identify Beaver Dam and the Data Center Group, but do not name Meta. Their linked application screens were accessible on October 21. Confirm both the assignment and availability with Mortenson before relying on a listing.
When will the Beaver Dam data center open?
The city’s November 2025 fact sheet forecasts the initial data center online in 2027.[6] A second phase is described as potential, so 2027 should not be read as a promised opening for the full campus.[6]
Does the forecast of 1,000 construction jobs mean 1,000 openings?
No. WEDC projected more than 1,000 skilled trade workers at peak construction and more than 100 operational jobs afterward.[5] Those forecasts are not current vacancies. Employer listings, apprenticeship applications and union dispatch calls are separate routes.
Sources
- Hello, Beaver Dam!
- Trade Partner Program | Contact
- Mortenson trade-partner prequalification inquiry
- Mortenson trade-partner bid-list contact form
- Meta, state and local officials announce $1 billion data center investment in Beaver Dam project
- Beaver Dam detailed data-center fact sheet
- Beaver Dam Data Center – Helm
- PSC Dodge County Distribution Interconnection Project
- PSC Wisconsin electric-service agreement preliminary decisions
- Data Center City FAQ Sheet
- Building Permits | Beaver Dam, WI
- Commercial Plan Review
- Assistant Project Manager, Self-Perform
- Project Engineer I – Mechanical
- Assistant Superintendent
- Senior Superintendent I
- Project Engineer II – Mechanical
- Apprenticeship
- South Central Wisconsin Building Trades Council apprenticeships
- Apprenticeship Search
- Join OE 139 – IUOE Local 139
- DWD Apprenticeship – Local Apprenticeship Committees
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Beaver Dam construction video, July 24, 2026
- Alliant Energy: Beaver Dam Commerce Park location sheet (2018), hosted by WPR
- WPR: Meta to invest more than B on Beaver Dam data center campus