Data Center Proposed for Alliance, Ohio, Amid Local Moratorium

Rick Baxter, president of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce and Alliance Area Development, and the city's new planner, announced a proposal to construct a mixed-use facility, including a data center, at the former Alliance Casting Co. site in Alliance, Ohio. The project, led by Applied Partners LLC, involves acquiring and cleaning up the brownfield site at 1001 E. Broadway St. and is expected to bring substantial investment and jobs to the city.

The plans detail a 400,000-square-foot facility, with 150,000 square feet allocated for a manufacturing company creating 65 jobs, and the remaining 250,000 square feet for a data center. The data center component is anticipated to draw over $1 billion in private investment, create 1,000 construction jobs, and 50-plus permanent positions. Developers claim the data center would utilize a closed-loop water cooling system, shield neighborhoods from light, and implement noise controls, with a target of 50 decibels. The site's existing substation and power infrastructure from the former steel mill were key factors in its selection.

However, the project faces a challenge: the Alliance City Council enacted an 18-month moratorium on new data center construction in July to develop local standards. This moratorium, which also restricted future data centers to industrial zones and denied permits for AI data centers within city limits, remains in effect. Project officials have indicated they will wait for the ban to be lifted and new standards to be passed before proceeding. Alliance resident Brandi Douthitt warned city officials of potential public backlash, suggesting residents feel the project is further along than previously disclosed, and cautioned against the tone of future discussions, particularly concerning an upcoming October 20 report from the data center subcommittee tasked with shaping future standards.