Battey Property in Rome No Longer Slated for Data Center
The proposed data center at Rome’s Battey Business Complex will not move forward after Atlas Development ended its agreement with the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority. This decision follows growing community opposition and opens up the possibility for city and county officials to reconsider the best use for the 100-acre site, which also requires extensive environmental cleanup. The property's future development will now involve exploring residential, commercial, and industrial possibilities.
The proposed data center project at the Battey Business Complex in Rome, Georgia, has been terminated. Atlas Development, the company behind the proposal, has ended its $5.7 million agreement with the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority (RFCDA) for approximately 100 acres of undeveloped land at the Division Street site. RFCDA Board Chair Jimmy Byars confirmed the project is no longer active, though neither Atlas nor the authority has publicly stated the reason for the termination.
The decision comes amidst growing community opposition to the data center. Residents from Rome and Floyd County, particularly those in Summerville Park, had actively spoken out against the project at local government meetings. A petition opposing the data center garnered over 2,200 signatures. Rome Mayor Jim Bojo indicated that the termination offers an opportunity for city and county officials to re-evaluate the optimal use for the large property, suggesting various possibilities including residential, commercial, and industrial development, rather than dedicating it to a single industry.
The future of the Battey property is also linked to an ongoing extensive environmental cleanup. The RFCDA has secured more than $7 million in federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address asbestos and lead contamination from the former Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital campus, where many structures date back to World War II. Demolition and asbestos removal were part of Atlas's original redevelopment agreement. With the data center project now off the table, the site remains a focus for environmental remediation and future development planning.