# Google behind $1bn data center in Little Rock, Arkansas — report (Data Center Dynamics) > *Verbatim extract of the Data Center Dynamics news article. DCD blocks automated HTML retrieval, so the article body was captured via browser and transcribed below.* ## Source metadata - **Publisher:** Data Center Dynamics (DCD) — datacenterdynamics.com - **URL:** https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-behind-1bn-data-center-in-little-rock-arkansas-report/ - **Published:** 2026-05-21 - **Archived:** 2026-05-22, transcribed from the page via browser - **Wayback snapshot:** Save Page Now did not return a snapshot. **Wayback failure**: Save Page Now did not return a snapshot on 2026-05-22 (the connection closed unexpectedly on two attempts). Retry pending. ## Extract **Google behind $1bn data center in Little Rock, Arkansas - report** *Developer's identity has been a mystery for months* Google is reportedly the company behind a $1 billion data center project in the Port of Little Rock, Arkansas. While not officially announced by Google, local press reports say industry sources have revealed the identity of the developer. According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, two sources told the publication that negotiations regarding the project were ongoing between Google and the city. Officials from Little Rock - including executive director Bryan Day and Jack Thomas - declined to comment, citing NDAs. DCD has contacted Google for comment. Plans for the data center first emerged in April 2025, when it was approved by the city's board of directors. The facility is expected to see $1bn in investment and will span 300,000 sq ft (27,870 sqm). The applicant behind the development is Willowbend Capital LLC. There are noticeable similarities between the data center project and another in nearby Conway, north of Little Rock. The Conway project is being promoted by Forgelight Ventures LLC, a company incorporated by Michael Montfort, who is additionally listed as the incorporator of Willowbend Capital. The Conway project also received approval in April 2025 and will also see $1 billion invested in a 300,000 sq ft (27,870 sqm) data center. At the time of the announcement, the unnamed developer was said to be a US-based Fortune 100 company. In recent months, Google has signed a 100MW PPA with Treaty Oak in Arkansas. The cloud giant also revealed a $4 billion investment commitment to the state in October 2025. At the time, the investment was slated for Google's first data center in the state, which would be located in West Memphis, Arkansas. The campus - known as Project Pyramid - will comprise five buildings on a 1,178-acre property on the south side of Bollinger Road in West Memphis, Crittenden County – south of a Coca-Cola bottling plant. Google was confirmed to be behind the effort in September 2025. Arkansas currently has a small data center market, but is seeing growing interest. In recent months, Serverfarm revealed plans for a 135-acre campus in the state, and Avaio is seeking to develop a $6bn campus in Little Rock. ## Notes - **Tier 3** — authoritative secondary source (data-center trade press). DCD attributes the underlying scoop to the *Arkansas Democrat-Gazette*, which cited two unnamed sources. - Bears on [[Forgelight Ventures, LLC]] and [[The Conway Data Center Project]]: the article reports that **Forgelight Ventures LLC (the Conway project) and Willowbend Capital LLC (a $1B Port of Little Rock data center) share the same incorporator, Michael Montfort.** Willowbend's project is the one the *Democrat-Gazette* reported is Google's. The article does **not** assert that Google is behind the Conway/Forgelight project; it draws "noticeable similarities" and the common incorporator, while noting the Conway developer remains officially "a US-based Fortune 100 company." - Also notable for the broader investigation: it describes a Google **Port of Little Rock** data center (applicant Willowbend Capital LLC) that is distinct from the AVAIO "Project Leo" and Google "Project Pyramid" sites already in the corpus. - Cited by: [[Forgelight Ventures, LLC]], [[The Conway Data Center Project]]