$3.6 Billion AI Campus Coming to Rapides Parish in Cenla's Biggest Economic Win in a Generation

Governor Jeff Landry stood at England Airpark on Tuesday and made an announcement that Central Louisiana's economic development community has been waiting years to hear.

Applied Digital Corporation — a Dallas-based company that designs, builds, and operates data centers for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing — will develop Delta Forge 1, a $3.6 billion AI factory campus in Rapides Parish. It is the largest economic development project in the region's modern history, and by some measures, the most transformational since the industrial investments of the 1950s and '60s.

"This project has the potential to be one of the most transformational in the history of Rapides Parish," said Louisiana Central President and CEO Chris Masingill. "In both scale and impact, it positions Central Louisiana to compete for major economic opportunities in ways we haven't seen in generations."

The numbers tell the story. Louisiana Economic Development estimates that the $3.6 billion investment exceeds the total private investment in the Central Louisiana region over the last ten years — combined.

Delta Forge 1 will initially comprise two facilities totaling 300 megawatts of critical IT load, spread across approximately 300 acres with direct access to energy infrastructure near Boyce, within the England Economic and Industrial Development District's jurisdiction. The campus will use Applied Digital's proprietary closed-loop cooling technology to support the high-density computing environments that modern AI workloads demand — built specifically for large-scale AI training and inference. Site development began in January 2026, with initial operations expected to come online in mid-2027.

On the jobs side, the project is projected to create 200 full-time, on-site positions with average salaries of roughly $90,000 per year — approximately 150 percent of the state average wage. At peak construction, more than 1,000 construction jobs are expected to be active on site. Louisiana Economic Development estimates an additional 218 indirect jobs, putting the total potential employment impact at more than 1,400 positions across the region. Applied Digital has also committed to directing funds back to the local school system, a provision Landry highlighted during Tuesday's announcement.

Cleco will serve as the power provider for the campus. The company's president and CEO, Bill Fontenot, called it "the largest economic development opportunity in Cleco's 90-plus year history." Applied Digital qualified for Louisiana's state and local sales and use tax exemption on data center equipment purchases, a program established under Act 730 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session — one of the policy tools Landry's administration has used to position the state as a competitive destination for large-scale technology investment.

"Louisiana is leading America's industrial renaissance while staying committed to protecting reliability, affordability, and the long-term interests of consumers," Landry said Tuesday. "Global companies are choosing Louisiana because they see a state where every region is prepared to deliver at scale."

Applied Digital Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins framed the decision as a long-term community investment. "Central Louisiana is exactly the kind of community we had in mind when we set out to build Applied Digital — a region with strong roots, abundant potential, and people who understand the value of long-term investment," Cummins said. "Our hope is that this campus becomes a source of opportunity and pride for the people of Central Louisiana for generations to come."

LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois pointed to the announcement as evidence of a broader shift in Louisiana's economic standing. "With stronger alignment, greater speed and a clear focus, we are seeing unprecedented momentum and growth reach every region of our state," she said. "This announcement reinforces that global technology companies see Louisiana as a place where they can expand, scale and invest with confidence."

For a region that has long felt overlooked in Louisiana's economic development story, Delta Forge 1 represents something more than a single announcement. It is a validation of the infrastructure, energy access, and workforce that Cenla leaders have spent years positioning as competitive assets — and a signal that the AI-driven capital investment wave reshaping the American South is now arriving in Rapides Parish. Louisiana businesses interested in contract and vendor opportunities associated with the project can register at SourceLouisiana.com.