$471.8M Filing Sets Out 112MW Data Center in South Texas
Project Kati 2’s latest filing puts a construction estimate and one-year schedule against a 471,884-square-foot AI building. Soluna and Metrobloks’ wider campus plans extend well beyond this package.
A $471.8 million construction filing has brought Soluna’s Project Kati 2 into sharper focus in Willacy County, setting out a 471,884-square-foot AI data-center building with approximately 112MW of critical IT capacity. The single-story facility is planned near Santa Monica on FM 1420, adding a substantial vertical project to South Texas’ computing infrastructure pipeline.
The reported filing carries an October 8, 2026 start and October 8, 2027 completion. Those dates are the submitted construction window, not confirmation that crews started work today or that customer operations will begin a year from now. The important development is the appearance of a building-level scope and cost alongside a campus that Soluna and development partner Metrobloks have been advancing throughout 2026.
Project at a Glance
- Filed construction estimate:
- $471.8 million
- Building area:
- 471,884 SF
- Critical IT load:
- Approximately 112MW
- Reported address:
- 1392 FM 1420
- Filed schedule:
- October 8, 2026 – October 8, 2027
A building package within a larger campus
The $471.8 million figure is an estimated construction value associated with the new registration. It should not be read as the total value of every future Kati phase, a signed construction contract or the cost of the computing equipment that customers may install. The distinction matters in a market where building budgets, campus investment announcements and server purchases can describe very different pools of spending.
Likewise, the 112MW critical IT figure concerns the computing load described for this package. It is not a statement of the total electricity demand of a fully developed campus. Support systems also consume power, and future buildings can add capacity beyond the first operational phase. Comparing this number with earlier campus announcements requires matching the same scope.
Soluna’s June-quarter SEC disclosure describes a two-phase Kati 2 venture: approximately 100MW in the first phase and a further 250MW in a second phase. Its investor materials have also discussed a development pathway above 350MW. These are expansion plans, not a claim that all of that capacity is financed, contracted or covered by the latest building registration.
How Kati reached this point
The development has a history preceding this week’s filing. Soluna broke ground on the wider Kati campus in September 2025. That earlier milestone must not be confused with the start of construction on the dedicated AI building now being described. Kati 1 and Kati 2 have different delivery programs and computing uses.
On January 15, 2026, Soluna announced a memorandum of understanding with Metrobloks for an initial AI and high-performance-computing development above 100MW. The agreement divided responsibilities between an energy-and-site platform and a partner responsible for data-center design, development, leasing and operations. It also outlined a route toward a much larger campus.
The relationship subsequently progressed to a definitive joint venture. The SEC disclosure records the venture’s formation in May and an agreement in June. By its second-quarter business update, Soluna said design development had been completed and a tenant letter of intent signed. A letter of intent is an intermediate commercial milestone; it does not, by itself, establish a final lease or an occupied building.
Power is central to the development strategy
Kati sits alongside the Las Majadas wind resource. Soluna’s strategy is to develop computing infrastructure close to renewable generation, using an established power position as the foundation for expansion. In its January announcement, the partners described work to secure additional supply for later phases. The commercial proposition is therefore about both a physical site and the ability to serve substantial computing demand.
That positioning does not remove the need for electrical engineering, connection work and a reliable operating design. A wind-farm nameplate rating cannot be treated as a guaranteed round-the-clock IT supply. The useful construction questions are which electrical works are required for each phase, when they can be energized and how the campus will satisfy customers’ reliability requirements.
Soluna’s investor updates distinguish its operating digital-asset facilities from AI campuses still in development. The October building filing belongs in that development story. Existing operations nearby are evidence of a wider operating footprint, but they do not demonstrate that the new AI building is complete or already serving a customer.
The construction opportunity extends beyond the shell
At nearly 472,000 square feet, this is a substantial building in its own right. For construction businesses, however, floor area tells only part of the story. The proposed computing load makes electrical distribution, heat removal, controls and commissioning central to delivery. A completed shell would be only one milestone on the route to a customer-ready facility.
TCH’s assessment is that the most useful next disclosures will concern the sequence of site preparation, building construction, equipment installation and testing. Those workstreams have to meet at energization and handover. A filed completion date provides a planning reference, while equipment orders and package awards would provide stronger evidence of the delivery program taking shape.
No general contractor or complete mechanical, electrical and commissioning team has been independently established for this specific building in the material reviewed. Firms working elsewhere on the wider campus should not automatically be assigned to Kati 2. Package-specific appointments are needed before a contractor map can be treated as a reliable procurement picture.
The milestones that will determine progress
The next chapter is the conversion of the design and commercial work into an executable construction program. A final customer agreement, project financing, named construction appointments and confirmation of field activity would each answer a different question. None can safely be substituted for the others simply because the project has a state registration.
The one-year submitted window deserves particular attention as the project progresses. It should be tracked against dated evidence of foundations, structural work, equipment delivery and commissioning rather than repeatedly presented as a confirmed opening promise. Future filings may also revise the scope or dates, as happens during the development of large facilities.
For South Texas, the project broadens the geography of AI construction beyond the better-known North, Central and West Texas clusters. The immediate story is a sizable building moving into the visible construction pipeline. Its eventual significance will depend on the delivery of this phase and the separate investment decisions needed to turn the wider expansion plan into operating capacity.
Explore the project overview, dated updates and delivery milestones in Project Insights.
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