COVINGTON, Ga. – An annexation request to move into the city of Covington could pave the way for a data center inside the city limits.
Members of the Covington city council voted 5-1 to approve a first reading on annexation request that will move a parcel located at 10835 Hazelbrand Road. The parcel, which is just outside of the city limits, is currently the site of a warehouse zoned as C-5 commercial. The request to annex the property would call for the zoning to become M2 heavy-industrial.
The owners, Hazelbrand Industrial LLC, are in the process of seeking the move with the intention of selling the property to the company Serverfarm to build a data center. Currently, Newton County ordinances do not allow for data centers to be built anywhere outside of the Stanton Springs area. The city of Covington does not have any ordinances regarding this.
According to the company’s website, Serverfarm is a data center management as a service (DMaaS) network that hosts data centers. The company has built a number of data centers across the world, including one in Gwinnett County. Most recently, the company announced its intentions to build a data center in Greece.
But a few potential hiccups persisted in this potential annexation.
At the Dec. 3 Newton County Board of Commissioners meeting, county attorney Patrick Jaugstetter brought up the request to the board. Jaugstetter noted that there may be an issue regarding a parcel in between the city limits and the potential data center site that would create an “unincorporated island,” which in this case, simplifies to a county parcel stuck in-between two city parcels.
However, commissioners did not object to the city’s request at the meeting. Covington planning and zoning director Judy Thagard said that the solution to the unincorporated island is in the form of a “10-foot strip” of land.
“That 10-foot strip would still be remaining in the county,” Thagard said. “Again, the consensus is that would be what would not create an unincorporated island.”
Another concern brought up regarding this annexation are the road concerns. Thagard noted that there had been troubles on this road “for years,” and that if the city were to approve the annexation that the city would assume responsibility for the road, should both sides of the road be in the city limits.
But vice president of Serverfarm, Jason Volk, mentioned during the public hearing that the data center would see a decrease in overall traffic due to the facility becoming a data center, rather than an industrial warehouse.
“Once we’re done with construction, there won’t be large semis coming in on a daily basis,” Volk said. “...The most you’ll have are the employees and the customers’ employees servicing their equipment. So a much lower impact for the community on the roadways.”
When looking at the tax digest, the city will stand to see a sizable increase in tax revenue from the possible annexation.
Currently, the building’s value is listed at just over $32.4 million. This will bring the city’s tax revenue at $87,352.34 annually at the city’s 5.756 millage rate. But Servermart has reportedly marked a value of $50 million on the building. This would bring the city’s annual tax revenue at $127,812.35.
The city will also stand to see more revenue come out of utility fees, as Servermart will use gas, water and sewer services.
When asked by council member Charika Davis what jobs the data center would bring, Volk said it would bring anywhere from 15-25 full-time employees that consist of middle to high-paying wages.
Volk also mentioned that Serverfarm is in talk with four potential customers for the data center. He noted that the council would be “very familiar” with all of the prospects.
Upon recommendation from the city’s engineering department, four potential motions were pitched.
Denial of the annexation
- Approval with requirements at the owner’s expense
- Approval with a cost-share agreement
- Approval without conditions
Council member Jared Rutberg opted to make the motion to approve the first reading of the annexation request without conditions. This was seconded by council member Susie Keck and approved 5-1. Councilman Anthony Henderson was the lone dissenting vote.
Next month, the council will have to approve a second reading of the request in order for the annexation to be finalized. The council will meet again on Monday, Jan. 6.
