This high-tech developer proposes 8-million-square-foot data center in Columbia County

1 day ago 7

Joe Hotchkiss, Augusta Chronicle

Thu, Apr 17, 2025, 3:04 AM 2 min read

Katie Goodale - Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY NETWORK

A projected information halfway task valued astatine much than $11 cardinal could travel to Columbia County, bringing adjacent much high-tech concern and taxation dollars to the Augusta area.

A filing by the region with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs offers details astir White Oak Technology Park, a projected tech field that would borderline White Oak Business Park, connected Appling-Harlem Highway northbound of Harlem.

Trammell Crow Co., a subsidiary of commercialized existent property elephantine CBRE, has submitted plans to beryllium the tech park's archetypal tenant. It projected astir 8.1 cardinal quadrate feet of buildings, of which 8.004 cardinal would comprise the information center, according to the filing.

Cheney Eldridge, enforcement manager of the Economic Development Authority of Columbia County, confirmed Trammell Crow's program Wednesday but declined to remark further connected the evolving proposal.

The region placed the project's "estimated worth astatine build-out" astatine $11.6 billion, and is expected to cod much than $118 cardinal annually successful estimated section taxation revenue, the filing stated.

To enactment the taxation magnitude into perspective, Columbia County's wide money fund successful fiscal twelvemonth 2024-25 is $100,644,268.

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The project's archetypal signifier could past much than 2 years, with the wide task being completed successful astir 10 years, the filing showed.

Columbia County precocious submitted a "Development of Regional Impact," oregon DRI, connection to the Georgia DCA. Georgia classifies DRIs arsenic "large-scale developments that are apt to person determination effects beyond the section authorities jurisdiction successful which they are located," according to the DCA.

Local governments eyeing ample improvement opportunities are obligated to taxable DRI accusation for authorities reappraisal nether the Georgia Planning Act of 1989.

The region described its envisioned tech parkland successful the filing:

"White Oak Technology Park is projected to pull and accommodate world-class exertion businesses and information halfway development. Proposed uses see information centers; probe and improvement facilities; cybersecurity providers; integer infrastructure and precocious exertion companies; and different uses associated with information centers and exertion facilities."

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected Augusta Chronicle: Tech-park information halfway valued astatine $11 cardinal could travel to Augusta area