Project Blue
Beale Infrastructure's $3.6 billion data center campus on 290 acres in unincorporated Pima County at the southeast edge of Tucson, Arizona. Pima County approved its agreement with Beale on December 16, 2025, and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council says the project is covered by a project labor agreement. Construction began at the end of April 2026. No end user has been named.
Key facts
- Capacity
- 600 MWFull build-out (reported); first phase 286 MW
- Estimated cost
- $3,600,000,000
- Building size
- 2,500,000 sq ftUp to ten buildings; other reports say 2 million
- Construction start
- Apr 2026
- Expected completion
- Not available
- Last verified
- Not yet re-verified
Companies and roles
- Developer
Unions
- Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council · Project labor agreement · Multiple trades
- SMART Local 359 · Project labor agreement · Sheet metal & HVAC
- IBEW Local 570 · Publicly supports the project · Electricians
Locals with jurisdiction over this site
Local with jurisdiction over this site (not confirmed on the job)
- Plumbers & pipefitters
- Ironworkers
- Operating engineers (heavy equipment)
- Carpenters
Prevailing wages (government minimums)
Minimum hourly pay the U.S. Department of Labor sets for federally funded building work in Pima County, by trade. It is a floor, not what this project pays: data center jobs often pay above scale, and non-union survey rates can be many years old.
| Trade | Wage /hr | Overtime 1.5× | Double time 2× | Benefits /hr | Total comp /hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ElectriciansUnion rate · IBEW Local 570 · effective Jun 1, 2025ELECTRICIAN (EXCLUDES LOW VOLTAGE WIRING)Overtime 1.5× $49.50 · Double time 2× $66.00 · Benefits /hr $13.04 | $33.00 | $49.50 | $66.00 | $13.04 | $46.04 |
| Plumbers & pipefittersUnion rate · Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 469 · effective Jul 1, 2025PIPEFITTEROvertime 1.5× $76.73 · Double time 2× $102.30 · Benefits /hr $21.00 | $51.15 | $76.73 | $102.30 | $21.00 | $72.15 |
| IronworkersUnion rate · Iron Workers Local 75 · effective Aug 1, 2025IRONWORKER, STRUCTURALOvertime 1.5× $49.50 · Double time 2× $66.00 · Benefits /hr $19.91 | $33.00 | $49.50 | $66.00 | $19.91 | $52.91 |
| Sheet metal & HVACUnion rate · SMART Local 359 · effective Jul 1, 2025SHEET METAL WORKEROvertime 1.5× $74.09 · Double time 2× $98.78 · Benefits /hr $19.86 | $49.39 | $74.09 | $98.78 | $19.86 | $69.25 |
| LaborersNon-union survey rate · effective Jun 12, 2023LABORER: COMMON OR GENERALOvertime 1.5× $26.19 · Double time 2× $34.92 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $17.46 | $26.19 | $34.92 | $0.00 | $17.46 |
| Operating engineers (heavy equipment)Union rate · Operating Engineers Local 428 · effective Jun 1, 2023POWER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR: BULLDOZEROvertime 1.5× $47.54 · Double time 2× $63.38 · Benefits /hr $13.52 | $31.69 | $47.54 | $63.38 | $13.52 | $45.21 |
| CarpentersUnion rate · Carpenters Local 1912 · effective Jul 1, 2025CARPENTEROvertime 1.5× $49.79 · Double time 2× $66.38 · Benefits /hr $19.20 | $33.19 | $49.79 | $66.38 | $19.20 | $52.39 |
| PaintersNon-union survey rate · effective Jun 12, 2023PAINTEROvertime 1.5× $22.50 · Double time 2× $30.00 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $0.00 | $15.00 |
| Plasterers & cement masonsNon-union survey rate · effective Jun 12, 2023CEMENT MASON/CONCRETE FINISHEROvertime 1.5× $31.50 · Double time 2× $42.00 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $21.00 | $31.50 | $42.00 | $0.00 | $21.00 |
- Wage:
- the hourly pay in the worker's paycheck, before taxes, at straight time.
- Overtime and double time:
- the wage × 1.5 and × 2. Federal contracts require time and a half after 40 hours a week; when double time applies (for example Sundays, holidays or after 10–12 hours) is set by each union contract.
- Benefits:
- paid by the employer on top of the wage into the worker's health insurance, pension and annuity, and apprenticeship training funds (sometimes vacation and holiday pay). Not in the paycheck.
- Total comp:
- wage + benefits for one straight-time hour.
Journeyman rates only; shift premiums and per diem are not included. Source: Davis-Bacon general wage determinations on SAM.gov.
Apprentices: rates above are for journeymen. Apprentices are usually paid a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting around 40–60% and rising about 10 percentage points every 6 months to a year until they reach the full rate. Exact steps vary by trade and local.
- U.S. Department of Labor wage determination AZ20260040 (SAM.gov) (opens in a new tab)sam.gov · Government filing
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these public sources:
- Arizona Luminaria (opens in a new tab)azluminaria.org · News
- Tucson Spotlight (opens in a new tab)tucsonspotlight.org · News
- Al Jazeera (opens in a new tab)aljazeera.com · News
- SMART union (opens in a new tab)smart-union.org · Press release
- KJZZ (opens in a new tab)kjzz.org · News
- IBEW inside jurisdiction map (AZ) (opens in a new tab)ibew.org · Other
- U.S. Department of Labor wage determination AZ20260040 (SAM.gov) (opens in a new tab)sam.gov · Government filing
- KVOA (opens in a new tab)kvoa.com · News
- azfamily (opens in a new tab)azfamily.com · News
- Construction Reporter (opens in a new tab)constructionreporter.com · News
- Pima County (opens in a new tab)pima.gov · Government filing
- DatacenterDynamics (opens in a new tab)datacenterdynamics.com · News
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