Goodman Group broke ground on a data center project in Vernon, on a portion of the 26-acre site that previously housed a Farmer John meatpacking operation.

The project will rise on 5.6 acres of the site. This is Goodman's first data center project in North America, although since 2005, Goodman has delivered 600 megawatts globally, according to a representative for the company.

“Goodman LAX01 Vernon is a great model of the prime characteristics of Goodman’s targeted data center locations, as we continue to expand our power bank in North America,” Goodman North America CEO Anthony Rozic said in a statement.

The powered shell of the 49.5 MW facility will be ready by mid-2026, according to Goodman Group.

This is roughly the typical size for new data center projects due to the California Environmental Quality Act and other statewide regulations, said JLL Managing Director Darren Eades, who specializes in data centers.

Many of the projects planned for Vernon and the LA market in general will top out at around the same size, he said.

A representative for Goodman Group said the plan for the remaining 20 or so acres at the Farmer John site is still in the works.

“Vernon is attractive to multiple types of businesses, particularly those that need a lot of power such as Data Centers, Cold Storage, and Manufacturers,” the representative said in an email. “At this stage, the type of development on the balance of acreage in Vernon is still yet to be determined.”

Vernon's historically industrial landscape and its data center-friendly, small-city approach to these projects have made it a desirable location. In September, data center developer CoreSite bought a 7-acre site in Vernon for $61.5M.

The demand for data centers shows few signs of slowing. Meta, Google and Amazon this week announced they support the goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050 to help power data centers.

Nvidia, a leading maker of chips used in artificial intelligence, announced during a conference this week that it would invest up to $500B in the production of new hardware in the next four years.