Colovore Hutto: $280M Filing Details 40 MW AI Data Center

Colovore’s Hutto data center has a new construction filing that gives contractors a more specific starting point: a $280 million estimate for a 192,694-square-foot building at 2401 Innovation Boulevard. The September 2 registration names the owner and designer, while the operator markets AUS01 as a 40 MW liquid-cooled AI colocation facility. Together, those sources establish a substantial Central Texas project with several important procurement questions still open.

The timing needs careful reading. The filed schedule begins in December 2026, while Colovore already describes the location as under construction. That difference affects when a contractor should expect drawings, qualification requests and field work. This breakdown separates the documented building scope, the operator’s capacity claims and the prospective work for low-voltage teams.

The latest project snapshot

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation registration, TABS2027000200, identifies new private construction comprising a single-story data center, administration space and a screened equipment yard. Its dates are forecasts; architectural-barriers registration does not establish municipal permit issuance or groundbreaking.

Item	Published detail	Basis
Location	2401 Innovation Boulevard, Hutto	State registration
Building	192,694 square feet	Filed scope
Construction estimate	$280 million	Registration estimate
Filed schedule	Dec. 2026–Dec. 2028	Forecast dates
Marketed capacity	40 MW; five 8 MW halls	Operator website
Construction stage	Source conflict unresolved	Filing versus operator

A contractor can use the registration number and street address to ask for the current project package. Requests should identify the building and phase explicitly, especially when talking with firms that serve multiple Colovore locations. A facility code alone can produce an incorrect match across unrelated operators.

Why the construction timeline remains unresolved

Colovore’s data-center directory labels AUS01 Hutto “Under Construction.” Its Austin market page advertises pre-leasing for 2026–2027. Those statements coexist with the newer state filing’s December 1, 2026 start and December 1, 2028 completion dates.

Possible explanations include different phases, early site activity, revised construction planning or marketing language that has not caught up with a building schedule. None is established by the reviewed sources. Current municipal permits, dated site evidence and a phase-specific owner statement would help resolve the discrepancy. Until then, a reader should treat the registered building as planned and retain the operator’s separate construction claim.

For estimating teams, the practical issue is sequencing. Early civil work, a building shell, equipment installation and customer fit-out can have different buyers and different procurement calendars. Ask which package is moving, what design information is available and which entity can authorize a proposal. A generic campus status cannot answer those questions.

Who is named, and where the contractor list stops

The state record names Colovore Austin 1 LLC as owner and Ci Design as design firm. Colovore supplies the operating identity through its market page. The financing announcement adds two platform-level relationships. These roles have different implications for a contractor seeking the correct point of contact.

Company	Sourced role	Scope limit
Colovore Austin 1 LLC	Filed owner	Project-specific entity
Colovore	AUS01 operator	Markets Hutto capacity
Ci Design	Filed design firm	Trade contracts undisclosed
King Street Capital Management	Platform investor	Hutto allocation unknown
Blackstone funds	Platform debt provider	Hutto allocation unknown

Ci Design’s mission-critical practice covers architecture for data-center environments. That supports understanding the company’s broader work; its Hutto involvement comes from the filing. The firm’s portfolio images and aggregate capacity figures should remain associated with its portfolio. They do not establish Hutto’s appearance or engineering appointments.

The reviewed sources do not name a general contractor, construction manager, electrical contractor or low-voltage integrator for this building. Mechanical, civil, fire-alarm, security, controls and commissioning awards also remain unverified. Contractors approaching the team should first request the authorized procurement route and current qualification process. No public bid deadline is established here.

Three money figures with different meanings

The current $280 million figure is an estimated construction cost in a specific filing. Earlier Data Center Dynamics reporting described the Hutto development as Project Raptor, with a $500 million estimate and a historical address of 2351 Innovation Boulevard. The older description included approximately 180,000 square feet of data-center space plus 13,000 square feet of offices.

That historical reporting helps connect the project names and addresses. It does not establish that the budget fell by $220 million. The estimates may reflect different scope, timing or cost definitions, and the sources do not reconcile them. The current filed address is the useful reference for this building; property boundaries and address history still warrant confirmation before routing site visits or deliveries.

Separately, a May 2025 issuer announcement described a $925 million debt facility from Blackstone funds supporting Colovore’s expansion, including Austin, Reno and Chicago. It also identified King Street affiliates’ 2024 acquisition of Colovore. The release does not allocate the facility to Hutto or establish current drawdowns and remaining availability.

For business development, the useful evidence is that the operator has identified platform capital relationships. A subcontractor still needs to qualify its actual customer, contract structure and package funding. Neither an investment headline nor a construction estimate provides a subcontract value, payment schedule or committed purchase order.

What 40 MW and liquid cooling tell a trade team

The Austin page markets five halls at 8 MW each and rack densities reaching above 600 kW. Those are operator specifications. The reviewed material does not define the 40 MW boundary clearly enough to equate it with utility service or commissioned critical IT load. Serving utility, service agreement, energized capacity and tenant commitments remain unverified.

The page also promotes efficiency and latency metrics. Those claims require operating measurements and measurement boundaries before they can describe delivered performance. This report does not infer a live AI customer, an installed GPU fleet or a particular cooling vendor from the marketing.

The practical inference is a need for early coordination among communications, mechanical, electrical and controls teams. Dense computing and liquid cooling can put pathways, service access and monitoring interfaces into the same constrained spaces. Contractors should ask for responsibility matrices, equipment interfaces and acceptance requirements before converting that inference into a takeoff.

Where low-voltage work could emerge

The following areas are prospective opportunities inferred from the facility type and published building uses. No installer, quantity, contract value or procurement date is verified. The questions are intended to help a qualified firm assess fit once the owner releases package information.

Work area	Potential interface	Question to resolve
Fiber and OSP	Entrances and backbone routes	Who owns carrier handoffs?
Structured cabling	Admin and operations spaces	Which pathways are included?
Security	Doors, perimeter and cameras	Who defines integration?
Fire alarm	Monitoring and system interfaces	Who owns acceptance testing?
Controls	Cooling and leak monitoring	Who supplies sensors and wiring?
Networking	Facility and security systems	Where are IT/OT boundaries?
Wireless and DAS	Coverage where specified	What coverage criteria apply?
Commissioning	Testing and turnover	Who signs the acceptance plan?

For a fiber contractor, the valuable early discussion covers route diversity, entrance facilities, pathway ownership and documentation. A security integrator needs clarity on doors, camera coverage, network responsibility and operational handover. A controls specialist needs the division of work between equipment suppliers and field installers. These are package-definition questions, not evidence that the corresponding packages are currently available.

The administration area and equipment yard also matter. Work may extend beyond the computing halls into access points, operations rooms and supporting buildings. Ask whether the scope is a complete campus system, a shell installation or a phase-specific extension. That answer determines how much coordination, testing and future expansion allowance belongs in the proposal.

Jobs, trades and skills worth preparing

Opportunity Austin’s historical company listing records a December 2024 Colovore announcement with 30 jobs and approximately 193,000 square feet. The figure is a historical economic-development entry. Current employment, construction headcount, local wages and open Hutto vacancies are not verified.

On September 7, Colovore’s official job board showed seven openings across Santa Clara, Chicago, Reno and remote positions. The remote roles included commissioning, development and construction project management. None was explicitly labeled Hutto or Austin. Candidates can monitor the company careers page for future location-specific postings.

For technicians, a useful preparation plan combines documented installation experience with test and turnover discipline. The Fiber Optic Association’s workforce resources describe installation, splicing, testing and certification pathways. Its fiber-testing reference provides a starting point for understanding how test results support acceptance. Training resources do not establish a Hutto hiring requirement.

Skills to discuss with a prospective employer include fiber inspection and cleaning, loss testing, labeling, pathway coordination, grounding and bonding, and readable as-built documentation. Security and controls applicants should be ready to explain how they verify interfaces and record deficiencies. Site access, lift authorization, safety orientation and supervision requirements must come from the hiring contractor’s actual rules.

OSHA’s Outreach Training Program is a general safety education resource. A course card alone does not establish qualification for every site activity. Applicants should ask what task-specific training and project onboarding the employer requires before paying for additional credentials.

The next evidence that would change the opportunity

A phase-specific construction update would make this lead more actionable. The strongest next signals would identify the municipal permit, current work on site, GC or construction manager, utility-service milestones and the first specialty procurement packages. Any customer announcement should also identify the location and committed phase before it is tied to Hutto demand.

Contractors can prepare a concise capability package now: relevant completed work, crew availability, service geography, testing capability and the project roles they can cover. The next conversation should establish who buys the work, when qualification occurs and what evidence is needed to be considered. Avoid building a proposal around an assumed tenant or an unverified start date.

Explore Colovore Hutto and related construction opportunities in LVN Signal. Use the sourced project details to identify the next decision-maker and prepare for a defined package as additional information becomes available.

Reporting checked September 7, 2026. Featured and social artwork are AI-generated editorial illustrations. They do not depict a verified site layout or construction progress.