The current buildings on the campus are the 120,000-sf Horizon facility, and the 95,000-sf Vista building, which, before any assumptions are made, was named that before the launch of the company's new operating system, says site leader Don Morton. "The building was named that before Microsoft bought our former company here, Great Plains Software, in 2001," Morton tells GlobeSt.com.

The expansion plans include a new 120,000-sf office building, and a 65,000-sf addition to the Vista building, Morton says. He says he can't comment on how much it will cost to do the expansion.

The company has about 1,300 people employed at the two buildings now, plus another 200 employees in a 45,000-sf office space off-site, Morton says. The above addition plans is just a first phase of a future, long-term expansion plan that will be able to house 3,800 employees, vendors and contingent staff, says company officials. "We want to get everyone consolidated, and we have some great growth projections," Morton says. "For Microsoft, the Midwest is a low-cost area for operations. Here, we have 40,000 college students to recruit from in a 100-mile radius."