One of Louisiana's largest artificial-intelligence infrastructure projects is moving from plans and financing into a visible construction phase, with Hut 8's River Bend campus near St. Francisville now employing more than 1,200 workers on site.
Fresh reporting from a controlled media tour of the West Feliciana Parish project shows the first phase taking shape on what had been forested hunting land. The first of four data halls is expected to begin operating in early 2027, with Phase 1 completion projected over roughly 14 to 18 months.
The construction update matters because Louisiana's data-center pipeline contains projects at very different stages. River Bend is no longer simply an announced investment: buildings, utility infrastructure and supporting systems are being constructed for a contracted customer.
A 245-Megawatt First Phase
Hut 8 announced in December 2025 that it had signed a 15-year lease with Fluidstack for 245 megawatts of information-technology capacity at River Bend. The base lease carries a stated contract value of $7 billion, with Anthropic providing the AI workload and Google providing a financial backstop for Fluidstack's obligations during the base term.
The initial 245 MW of IT capacity is supported by 330 MW of utility capacity. Hut 8 says the site could ultimately scale by as much as another 1,000 MW, although that additional capacity is potential expansion rather than capacity already built or operating.
The company has also committed approximately $16 million to expand West Feliciana Parish water infrastructure, including a new well and roughly eight miles of water main. Hut 8 has said those improvements will be transferred to the parish after completion.
Construction Jobs Now, Permanent Jobs Later
The current workforce is heavily weighted toward construction. Reporting this week puts more than 1,200 workers on the site, while the completed campus is expected to support approximately 250 permanent positions.
That distinction is important when evaluating large industrial and technology projects. Construction can create a sharp temporary increase in employment, contractor demand and local spending, while the long-term operating workforce is typically much smaller.
River Bend is nevertheless significant because it gives Louisiana an early test of whether the state's aggressive data-center recruitment can translate into completed infrastructure on schedule.
What to Watch Next
The immediate milestones are energization, commissioning and the opening of the first data hall in 2027. Longer term, the bigger question is whether the campus expands beyond its initial 245 MW commitment.
Louisiana is simultaneously pursuing other large data-center developments, and those projects are driving debates over electric generation, transmission, water infrastructure, ratepayer protections and workforce capacity.
River Bend now offers something policymakers and residents can evaluate in real time: not a rendering or future promise, but an active construction site moving toward operations.
Source Notes
Axios New Orleans, Oct. 7, 2026: https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2026/10/07/data-center-louisiana-hut-8-anthropic
Hut 8 - River Bend project page: https://www.hut8.com/data-centers/river-bend
Hut 8 AI infrastructure partnership announcement, Dec. 17, 2025: https://www.hut8.com/news-insights/press-releases/hut-8-announces-ai-infrastructure-partnership-with-anthropic-and-fluidstack
Hut 8 water-infrastructure commitment, May 19, 2026: https://www.hut8.com/news-insights/press-releases/hut-8-commits-usd16-million-to-expand-water-infrastructure-in-west-feliciana-parish
