Wisconsin News

Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Port Washington data center TID

September 23, 2026

An Ozaukee County judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging local development incentives supporting a $15 billion data center campus under construction in Port Washington.

Earlier this year, Great Lakes Neighbors United — a community group opposed to the Port Washington data center — sued the city, challenging its creation of a tax incremental district to fund around $175 million in infrastructure improvements for the project.

Tax increment districts, or TIDs, are a geographic area within a municipality that’s being targeted for development, where local governments divert increased property tax revenue generated from the district’s growth to finance development infrastructure or incentives.

Port Washington created TID No. 5 to support the data center campus being developed by Vantage Data Centers, OpenAI and Oracle. The city’s development agreement is with Vantage.

The suit against the city said the TID would lead to the city issuing more than $458 million in property tax reimbursement and interest payments to the developer over 18 years. The suit argued the project didn’t need the “public subsidy.”

But Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Adam Gerol dismissed Great Lakes Neighbors’ lawsuit at an oral ruling last week, according to the county’s clerk of courts.

A proposed order would dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning Great Lakes Neighbors would not be able to refile the same claim. The order still needs to be signed by the court.

In a statement, Great Lakes Neighbors said the dismissal did not resolve their concerns about the district.

“The court’s ruling does not close the question itself,” Great Lakes Neighbors United founder Christine Le Jeune said in a statement. “Residents still deserve a full and transparent accounting of how TID No. 5 was created and administered, and we will continue to pursue it in every way available to us.”

In court filings, the city had argued Great Lakes Neighbors incorrectly claimed Port Washington would not receive property tax benefits from the project and omitted “crucial deal points.”

In a statement, the city of Port Washington said the court’s decision affirmed the city’s process for approving the TID.

The city said Vantage Data Centers is covering the $175 million in infrastructure costs upfront and would later be reimbursed through the TID.

“There is no money from taxpayers other than Vantage involved in the TID,” the city stated. “Once the TID closes, the City anticipates receiving the increased property tax revenue and increment made possible by the improvements that comprise this project.”

The controversy around the data center and TID No. 5 also spurred a ballot initiative. Roughly two-thirds of Port Washington voters approved a referendum giving them more say over future development incentives.

The ordinance passed by voters would require future tax incremental districts with project costs or a base value of at least $10 million receive approval from voters before they can move forward.

Earlier this year, business groups sued the city of Port Washington, challenging the legality of the ordinance.

They argue the ordinance would harm employers and slow economic development. The city’s legal filing responding to their lawsuit said the city also has “concerns related to the legality of the proposed ordinance.”

Great Lakes Neighbors United has joined that case to argue in favor of the ordinance. An oral ruling in that case is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Brigitte Pyzyk, a researcher for Great Lakes Neighbors, said they’re hoping the judge sides with voters.

“We would hope that the court would acknowledge that a vast majority of the citizens in Port Washington have voted on direct legislation, and they want a say on future TIDs,” she said.

Beyond those court cases, Great Lakes Neighbors said in a statement that the organization “will pursue further action through additional avenues.”

That could include filing complaints with the state Department of Revenue and trying to build support among state lawmakers to approve an audit related to TID No. 5, Pyzyk said.

She said those complaints would likely center around whether the TID follows rules set by the state. She also said the community group was still working to determine next steps and ways forward.