A Third Data Center Expected In North Floyd County
Fifteen acres of land along Highway 53, across from Lowe’s Distribution Center, could be added to nearby acreage for a new data center, dubbed Project Sassy.
The project’s developers entered an option with the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority for the property in December. This is the third data center planned for Floyd County.
“The project owns land adjacent to this property and was interested in entering an option to add this 15 acres to it,” RFCDA President Missy Kendrick said.
The option states that Project Sassy has the first choice to purchase the 15 acres within an 18-month window. The acres are for sale at $60,000 an acre.
The property, along Ga. 53, is a part of Lowe’s property and is owned by both the RFCDA and the Development Authority of Floyd County. The RFCDA approved the option in December, but if the developers choose to use it, DAFC has to approve the sale, Kendrick said.
At the DAFC meeting Wednesday morning, Kendrick said the developers wanted the option approved by the end of the year. The developers worried that data center bill could be reopened in 2025 legislation and wanted to have the property secured.
The new project follows the RFCDA’s approval of an option with a developer for 114 acres behind Coosa High School. The option was approved in December, with the land for sale at $40,000 an acre.
The Floyd County Board of Education owned the property but transferred it to the development authority in November. When transferring the property, Superintendent Glenn White said that they had no intention of building on the property and another data center would be beneficial.
No specific company has been named for the Coosa project, but the purchase agreement includes a limited use of the property.
The influx of data centers into the area began in October 2023 when Microsoft announced the purchase of 347 acres on Huffaker Road and pledged a $1 billion investment in the project.
As part of the Microsoft deal, the company was guaranteed a 12-year partial tax abatement for buildings and equipment on the property. The company pays property taxes as well as county school taxes on the increased value of the land.