CAMERON COUNTY, Texas — AI infrastructure giant Fluidstack has officially broken ground on the $4 billion first phase of a massive data center campus in unincorporated Cameron County, following the issuance of a worksite permit by local authorities.
The facility, rising on more than 1,100 acres situated east of FM 509 and west of FM 106—positioned east of Valley International Airport in Harlingen and west of the Port of Harlingen near the City of Rio Hondo—is designed from day one to fully comply with directives issued by Governor Greg Abbott, regulatory mandates from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and Cameron County Resolution No. 2026R04056.
Project officials emphasized that the development comes with zero tax breaks, no county incentives, and no public burden for utility or power infrastructure, while creating more than 2,500 construction jobs and several hundred permanent high-tech roles in the Rio Grande Valley.
“We pay our own way: our energy, our infrastructure, our water, and full local property taxes, and we build to the Governor's standards from day one,” said Kate Franko, Head of Public Affairs at Fluidstack. “The Rio Grande Valley knows how to build big things, and we're hiring here first for construction, electrical, skilled trades, and permanent operations careers. We welcome oversight from elected officials, and if a neighbor ever has a concern, we'll address it quickly.”
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. confirmed Thursday that a formal worksite permit has been issued to Fluidstack, allowing preliminary ground development to move forward. The permit allows the company to perform site clearing, land grading, utility installation, surface infrastructure construction such as access roads and parking lots, and retention pond stormwater management before vertical building construction begins.
Treviño stressed that state law obligates the county to issue a permit once a developer meets all legal requirements, but noted that local oversight will remain active throughout development.
“Cameron County’s role in development is to review permit applications and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” Judge Treviño stated. “Cameron County is obligated by state law to issue a permit once a business meets all requirements; however, the issuance of a permit does not alter the County’s responsibility to monitor compliance with established standards and conditions throughout the development process.”
Acknowledging community interest and concern regarding large-scale data facilities across the state, Treviño added, “The County recognizes that residents have expressed a range of opinions regarding data center development in Cameron County. County officials will continue to work with state agencies, utility partners, and the developer to ensure that all applicable requirements are met, and local concerns are addressed.”
Cameron County is providing no tax abatements or county incentives for the project, meaning Fluidstack will pay full annual local property tax rates into county and school district funds.
Local and state representatives praised the framework established for the campus, pointing to its protections for regional power and water resources.
Cameron County Commissioner David A. Garza, whose precinct encompasses the development site, gave a strong endorsement of the arrangement.
“Fluidstack is doing it right, and that’s why Cameron County is proud to welcome them,” Garza said. “They are investing in and paying for their own energy and infrastructure, ensuring those costs do not fall on our residents. They will also pay their full share of local taxes, while maintaining extremely low water usage—an especially important consideration for our region. Just as importantly, Fluidstack is working with local leaders to help address longstanding regional challenges.”
State Senator Adam Hinojosa, whose Senate district covers Cameron County, highlighted the facility as a blueprint for future industrial development in Texas.
“Data centers looking to come into Texas should strengthen the communities they enter, not drain the resources those communities depend on,” Sen. Hinojosa stated. “That is why I have been pushing for strong policy that establishes a 'Gold Standard' for responsible development that will protect our water, power, and other critical resources. Ultimately, the decisions to allow data centers should belong to the individual communities themselves.”
“That being said, it is good to see companies like Fluidstack voluntarily holding themselves to that higher standard before it is even required by law,” Hinojosa added. “Their commitment to securing their own power and water resources, working closely with local leaders, and investing in good-paying jobs is the kind of responsible growth we can get behind in the Rio Grande Valley.”
To alleviate regional environmental and resource concerns, Fluidstack and county officials detailed several technical binding commitments:
Founded in 2017 out of Oxford University and headquartered in New York City, Fluidstack has rapidly emerged as a dominant global provider of dedicated artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure. The company builds, owns, and manages high-performance, single-tenant GPU clusters tailored for frontier AI research labs, major tech corporations, and government entities.
The company has experienced an unprecedented surge in capital and enterprise demand. Fluidstack recently closed a $1.5 billion funding round led by Jane Street Capital at an $18 billion valuation, following an $830 million Series A round led by AI-focused investment firm Situational Awareness. The company previously announced a landmark $50 billion multi-year capacity agreement with AI research lab Anthropic to build custom data center infrastructure across North America.
Fluidstack currently manages more than 100,000 top-tier GPUs (including NVIDIA H200 clusters) across a global footprint, earning the "ClusterMAX Gold" rating from industry analyst firm SemiAnalysis for infrastructure deployment speed and efficiency.
Fluidstack stated that additional community benefit commitments, developed alongside Cameron County leaders, will be announced as formal agreements are finalized. Subsequent permits will be required before vertical building construction begins on the Harlingen-area site.
