CHEYENNE — The developer behind a massive 5,600-worker man camp that was going to locate just south of Cheyenne in the High Plains Business Park has pulled back on the project, at least for now.
The company had been under contract to buy land near Orchard Valley for the Iron Guard Workforce Housing campus but has withdrawn its application and is no longer under contract for that site.
“Due to several variables outside of our control, we are unable to finalize the conditional use permit at this time in this location,” said an emailed statement from project representative Casey Palma to Cowboy State Daily.
Palma said the application, which had been on the Laramie County Commission’s June 16 agenda, has been removed. Residents will be notified if that changes.
“Our hope is that putting the application on hold will save everyone time and effort, versus multiple consecutive postponements,” Palma said. “(That) will allow Iron Guard to provide a housing campus that best meets the needs of the community.”
The project isn’t dead, Palma added.
Several other potential sites have also been under consideration, Palma indicated, “with regard to access, serviceability, and appropriate interface to surrounding neighborhoods.”
A campus to house data center workers is “desperately needed in Laramie County,” Palma added. “We look forward to bringing this campus to support Cheyenne’s economic development.”
Neighborhood Outcry
The postponement comes amid weeks of heated debate over the proposed man camp which, by size alone, data from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division indicates would be larger than 84 of the state's incorporated cities or towns.
The man camp’s future neighbors have questioned the location, fearing it would lead to increased crime and lower property values.
“Man camps in similar locations have led to an increase in property crime, DUI’s, drug crimes and violent crimes,” Harmony Meadows resident Heather Madrid wrote in a letter to Laramie County planners. “There are many schools in this area.”
She also questioned having such a large surge in population in an area that she characterized as already “underserved and under-resourced.”
Madrid told Cowboy State Daily the project’s postponement is “great news for the surrounding communities.”
“It will probably be built somewhere else,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s not near neighborhoods that have already born the brunt of all this and are historically underserved, under-resourced, and under-represented. It shouldn’t be near any neighborhoods.”
Madrid added she understands not building a man camp would have further impact to the housing markets, but added the need for one is “reflective of rapid, unsustainable growth.”
“To be clear, I am not against the workers,” she said. “They are not to blame, whether they’re local or not. The blame lies with the public officials who have failed to plan properly and refuse to adjust unless it’s an adjustment that benefits developers and operators. They apparently can’t read the room, or don’t care to.”
Others fear such a large man camp in that location would overwhelm services in the area. South-side resident Elizabeth Marvin told Laramie County planners there’s just one grocery store on that side of town.
“We don’t have the infrastructure to support that many more people,” she said. “We don’t have the resources.”
Maureen Clifton, meanwhile, told Laramie County planners that utilities in that area are already overwhelmed.
Her basement has flooded with sewage twice since she moved in a few months ago, a problem she doesn’t see getting better if a 5,600-worker man camp gets built in the area.
“An 800-unit man camp is not good for any part of town,” Clifton wrote in a letter to Laramie County planners. “It’s not a coincidence that this is not proposed on the north side of town, where numerous more services exist.”
Housing Crisis Ahead
The Iron Guard Workforce Housing Campus has been pitched as necessary to help Laramie County and Cheyenne capture the economic benefits of major data center investments, while shielding local neighborhoods and housing markets from negative side effects.
“We need housing yesterday,” Laramie County Planning and Development Director Justin Arnold said. “I’m worried about the cashier at Safeway on South Greeley Highway when his lease comes up for rent — and then he gets priced out by someone making $100,000.”
Consolidating the thousands of out-of-town electricians, pipe fitters, equipment operators and other skilled trades that will be needed for data center projects, along with F.E. Warren Air Force Base's nuclear missile upgrade, is one way to help alleviate the pressure on existing housing stock and keep costs of living more stable for long-time residents, Iron Guard and Cheyenne officials have said.
Local real estate market data show there are fewer than 300 homes listed for sale in all of Laramie County in early June — 289 homes for a population of about 100,000. That’s well below the more usual 450 to 550 listings Cheyenne has when it’s a more balanced market.
Taking A Breath
The campus would have been just outside Cheyenne city limits on the south side in an area already surrounded by industrial and data-center development.
The area is identified in long-range transportation plans for future collector and arterial roads.
Withdrawal from the Orchard Valley site prompted a mixed reaction in social media groups like Cheyenne Community Connections on Facebook.
Some were pleased the man camp had been stopped in the proposed location, expressing hope it won't get built at all, while others pointed out that no man camp means hotels and short-term rentals will fill up just as tourism season arrives.
Wyoming Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen told Cowboy State Daily he thinks it’s good that the developer and officials are “taking a breath” to consider “how we can do this better and people feel comfortable with it,” including how workforce housing interacts with local lodging markets and neighborhoods.
“We’ve got a lot of these projects going,” he said. “They’re all going to require workers. So I think everybody’s just trying to figure out how to get them to fit in our communities the best.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
