Augusta's next data center is being proposed across from the airport and within a mile of several residential neighborhoods.
The city has begun filing paperwork with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs detailing the intent to develop the Nixon Technology Center in southeast Richmond County.
The project is described as "a proposed 3.34 million-square-foot data center campus to be located on one parcel totaling +/- 388 acres" in a "Development of Regional Impact," or DRI, statement submitted to the Georgia DCA on Monday.
The DRI forms list the property owner as the Nixon Trusts, represented by Augusta real estate law firm Trotter Jones, and estimates its estimated completion
date in 2029.
The forms do not yet list details on other aspects of the project, such as its estimated value at buildout or whether nearby electrical infrastructure can accommodate the finished development.
Richmond County property records show three street addresses comprising the undeveloped, forested acreage: 1550 Four H Club Road; 1538 Four H Club Road; and 3806 Mike Padgett Hwy. The land is surrounded on three sides by Mike Padgett Highway, Doug Barnard Parkway and Tobacco Road.
Augusta Regional Airport faces the property opposite Doug Barnard. Other nearby developed property includes warehouse space used by Kimberly-Clark Corp. and RBW Logistics.
Forms also list the developer as 3 G Investments, a limited-liability company whose accompanying address matches civil engineering firm Groupe in Woodbridge, Va.
"We know the most intimate intangibles that can make or break a project — like how to minimize community reaction to a public improvement or maximize the speed of plan approvals," Groupe said on its website.
For more than a year, Augusta-area residents have opposed several data center proposals in Richmond and Columbia counties. They have raised concerns about noise, power and water consumption, environmental impacts and a perceived lack of local regulatory oversight.
Georgia classifies DRIs as "large-scale developments that are likely to have regional effects beyond the local government jurisdiction in which they are located," according to the DCA.
Local governments eyeing large development opportunities are obligated to submit DRI information for state review under the Georgia Planning Act of 1989.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Another data center could be coming to Augusta. Here's where| Exclusive
