Col. Co. leaders start plans for new data center and technology park in Appling
After recent discussions about ways to improve the county, Economic Development Authority Director Cheney Eldridge says they saw the need for a data center.
'Anything you do on the internet runs through a data center, so they're very important to have—not just for the country, but here in this community,' said Eldridge.
County leaders have sent a rezoning application for almost 2000 acres near Morris Callaway Road.
They're working with Trammel Crow, a commercial real estate firm out of Atlanta.
'They came to us when we were looking at this piece of property, and have really been with us the whole time working together through a public-private partnership. They're simply an intermediary between us and whoever would come in and locate within this park,' said Eldridge.
She says they strategically picked that location, as nearby White Oak Business Park hosts operations for Club Car and Amazon's fulfillment center.
'I think it's important to keep all of these together, because the last thing we want is a splattered amount of projects all over. Industrial, a data center, or even an office park. You want to keep things together just like you want residential together,' Eldridge said.
They are not planning on the data center to be an extension of White Oak Business Park, but workers will use that area to access the building.
'Access will come through the business park, and they'll access the property that way,' the director added. 'They'll come off of the highway as opposed to coming off of Morris Callaway.'
The idea is to hire network engineers to operate at the center—what the authority hopes is a golden opportunity to create more jobs for those coming from Augusta University and Fort Eisenhower.
'Right now, a lot of the folks that are coming out of Fort Eisenhower are not able to find the right job that meets their skills. What we will have with this data center park is plenty of jobs that are exactly what we have coming out of Fort Eisenhower, and through the pipeline that we're building,' Eldridge said.
The county is still working on costs and timelines with Trammel Crow.
But with more jobs and generated tax revenue expected, they see it as a win-win.
'Any time you go on Facebook to look at pictures of your grandchildren, or you want to send a photo of your dog to a friend—you need a data center. It's integral for this country to have this type of infrastructure in place. I see it as an opportunity for this community to benefit from a necessary infrastructure that's going to have to go in any way,' said Eldridge.
The county is now waiting on next steps with the developer.
The construction timeline will take place over the next several years.
'I think you might see things start in the next few years. But for this size of a piece of property, for it to be fully built out will probably take 20 to 30 years,' Eldridge said.
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