DABC won’t sell land to data center developer
The Development Authority of Bryan County rejected a request from LN Compute to purchase about 19 acres in Richmond Hill for a proposed 30-megawatt AI and high-performance computing data center. The project would require zoning approval, but the authority said it is not pursuing data centers and declined to sell the land, effectively blocking the proposal.
The Development Authority of Bryan County declined to sell LN Compute roughly 19 acres at Belfast Commerce Park in Richmond Hill for a proposed 30-megawatt artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center. LN Compute estimated the project would represent a $150 million investment and create about 20 permanent jobs. The company said the facility would use closed-loop liquid cooling and dry coolers, with no municipal cooling water or groundwater withdrawals.
The proposed use was not listed as an allowed use under Richmond Hill's 2013 Belfast Commerce planned unit development and would have required an appeal before the city's zoning authorities. Development Authority CEO Ryan Purvis said the board wanted to give LN Compute a direct negative response and does not intend to pursue data center projects. LN Compute CEO Eric Yao had also asked about zoning requirements, land pricing and possible payment-in-lieu-of-tax terms; the company previously faced opposition to a cryptomining data center proposal in Blackshear.