NEWTON COUNTY — Yet another data center has been proposed in Newton County.

According to a Developments of Regional Impact report filed with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the project is referred to as the “Gregory Road Data Center.” With this project, an approximately 1.4 million square foot data center campus has been proposed for an anticipated 230-acre area at the intersection of Gregory Road and Flat Rock Road.

The owner of the many parcels listed in the filing is John B. Williams. Williams is also listed as an owner of the property alongside JBW Investments, LLC and JF Land Investments, LLC. Universal Planning and Development, LLC, is developing the site.

Eric Johansen, vice president of Development at Universal Planning and Development, LLC, said that they are looking to build four or five buildings on the site, most being 300 by 1000 square feet in size, but that these projections remain subject to change.

Johansen declined to comment on any projected tenants for the development.

The land is currently located in unincorporated Newton County, but Universal Planning and Development is looking for the city of Covington to annex the site into its city limits. 

Johansen attributed the annexation request to the developer’s efforts to distribute tax dollars between Newton County and the city of Covington.

“Newton County is going to get tax money no matter what, whether you're in the city or out of the city,” Johansen said. “By being annexed into the city, now you give the city a portion of that money as well.”

This is the second data center in the last four months that could come down the pipeline for the city of Covington. On Dec. 16, 2024, the Covington city council approved an annexation request for a different development group that would allow a data center to be built.

When discussing reasons for annexation, Covington Planning Director Judy Thagard highlighted Newton County’s current land use ordinances regarding data centers.

“Newton County zoning ordinance only allows data centers in the Stanton Springs overlay, which is out in Stanton Springs in the business park,” Thagard said on Dec. 16. “They do not have that as a use anywhere in any other zoning district that they have.”

That, however, is not the same for Covington.

“The city of Covington does allow data centers in our boundaries under several zoning designations with M-1 or M-2 being a permitted-by-right zoning for a data center,” Thagard said.

In this specific case, the land would also need to undergo rezoning to allow for industrial use. 

If annexed into Covington and properly rezoned, Universal Planning and Development has a long journey of construction planned. The estimated project completion date in the regional impact filing states that the first phase would begin in 2027, with the overall project lasting until 2036.

An additional information form submitted alongside the regional impact report lists the site’s estimated value at built-out as being $5.7 billion. Furthermore, anticipated tax revenue from the site is projected at over $19 million annually.

To account for increased traffic in the area generated by a new development, the developer listed a proposal where the city abandons a portion of Gregory Road, making the road into a dead end and disconnecting a connecting roadway. Local traffic would be redirected to use the intersection of Alcovy Road and Highway 142.

However, Johansen does not think that traffic will prove to be a major problem for the site once constriction is complete.

“They’re low-traffic generators, you’re talking 100 to 120 employees that would work there around the clock that are high-paying salaried jobs, and outside of construction, you have no truck traffic,” Johansen said.

Additionally, the land is located near a drinking water reservoir and is next to Lake Varner. As a result, the developer submitted that there was a possibility of the development affecting wetlands, floodplains, water supply watersheds and “other environmentally sensitive resources.”

Universal Planning and Development had successfully annexed parcels into the city in the past. DIrectly across the street from this site is a multi-acre development that is inside Covington following a successful annexation request in 2023.

Managing Editor Evan Newton contributed to this report.