BCPC will hear Brown Farm Road data center Aug. 24
The Bartow County Planning Commission will vote on August 24 on a rezoning request for a proposed micro-scale data center by Oakley Real Estate Partners on Brown Farm Road. The project, which includes two buildings and a power substation, has faced opposition and was previously delayed for tribal outreach. If approved, the data center is expected to generate $5 million in annual property taxes and create 50 jobs.
The Bartow County Planning Commission (BCPC) is set to vote on a controversial rezoning request for a proposed micro-scale data center on August 24. The project, located on 111.4 acres off Brown Farm Road, is being brought forward by Akin & Tate P.C. on behalf of Oakley Real Estate Partners. The firm seeks to rezone the agricultural land (A-1) to a business park district (BPD) and change its land use designation from low-density residential to industrial.
The proposed data center includes two buildings totaling approximately 374,000 square feet, a power substation, and an estimated annual water usage of 10,000 gallons for its closed-loop cooling system. Oakley Real Estate Partners has offered several self-imposed conditions, such as limiting the campus size to 450,000 square feet, maintaining 200-foot setbacks from residential areas, and prohibiting cryptocurrency mining. The project is projected to create about 50 jobs and generate around $5 million annually in property taxes.
The proposal has faced opposition, with demonstrators protesting outside the Gold Dome Courthouse in Cartersville. The BCPC's decision was previously delayed to allow for outreach with the Eastern Band of Cherokee and Creek nations. The commission's upcoming meeting will also address other rezoning requests, including a planned warehouse/logistics center by Crow Holdings LLC and a senior apartment complex by the Beverly J. Searles Foundation, as noted by Bartow County Community Development Director Brandon Johnson.