HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A developer has withdrawn plans for a $1.2 billion data center in Hall County after significant opposition from local residents.
The proposed Project Turbo was set to be built on 119 acres on O’Kelly Road in Gainesville, but residents raised concerns about the project’s impact on water usage and traffic congestion.
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“I’m very happy they pulled the plug,” said neighbor Kerri McCoy, expressing relief that the developer dropped the plans.
Residents were worried that the data center would use about 225,000 gallons of water per day to cool computer equipment, potentially compromising public water availability.
At a commission meeting Thursday night, residents learned that the developers had rescinded their special use permit for the data center and would seek a light industrial zoning change instead.
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Despite the change in plans, many residents remain skeptical about the developer’s intentions for the property.
“We don’t have the infrastructure for it,” said McCoy.
A representative for the developer stated that the decision was due to insufficient fact-finding and education about modern data centers at the commission and staff level.
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