$9.7 billion data center project proposed in Troup County
Published 8:15 am Thursday, March 13, 2025
- LOTS OF DATA AND POWER: The proposed data center campus could use upwards of 600 megawatts of power. That's enough to power 450,000 homes. -- Brett Sayles | Pexels
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A $6 billion data center could be coming to LaGrange.
The proposed data center campus would be located between Hamilton Road and Whitesville Road, south of Interstate 85 near LaGrange. The part of the property is currently in Troup County but a request has been made to annex it into the city.
Plans for the project call for six 252,000-square-foot industrial buildings on 513 acres. The proposed data campus would also have its own substation to provide its substantial need for power.
The proposed project is still in the very early phases, LaGrange City Planner Mark Kostial said.
“No official plans have been submitted to the city for review or consideration. The only things that we’re in possession of are a conceptual plan, a traffic impact study and other documents that are required to coincide with the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) submission,” Kostial said.
According to the DRI documents submitted on Friday, the project would provide an estimated $60 million in annual tax revenue to Troup County.
The company, currently only known as “Project West,” still needs to complete a water study and a study to determine whether or not upwards of 600 megawatts of power could actually be provided for the data center, Kostial said.
Developer and property owner Joshua Harrelson said the project is estimated to bring about 580 jobs to the community, at an average salary of $80,000.
“That’s higher than our average. The net economic impact [is estimated at] about $785 million over the next 10 years. It’s a $9.7 billion gross project,” Harrelson said.
“This project has the ability to have a huge impact on the city, jobs-wise, revenue-wise, and really supporting the local community,” he said.
Harrelson said he wants to do something that will help the community long term.
“My wife and I, my kids, we love this town. We’ve prayed long and hard about doing this and this opportunity,” Harrelson said.
The Harrelsons have been a big part of the community over the years. Joshua is an entrepreneur with a variety of local business projects and his wife owns Champions Training Academy, a competition cheer and gymnastics gym in LaGrange.
“We really believe in trying to bring something to this community that impacts it positively,” he said.
Harrelson said the data center will not negatively impact the area where it is proposed. He currently lives on the property.
“My farm is really big. Nobody will see it,” Harrelson said. “It’s a huge place. The size of these structures, while they might seem big, we’re setting them back a very long way away from anybody else. Nobody will even know that they’re there.”