LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Backers of a $6 billion hyperscale data center planned for rural Oldham County said Monday they are pursuing a new site and smaller project in the area.
Western Hospitality Partners (WHP) announced in a press release that it now aims to build its tech development at 3210 DW Griffith Lane at the Sauerbeck family drive-in theater property.
The drive-in is expected to move, Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele said in a Facebook post, adding that WHP plans two buildings there.
The change was made after "hearing the community’s concerns about the Highway 53 site and working closely with numerous leaders within the community," WHP's Abie Kassin said in the release that touted the project's "lasting benefits" to the county.
Voegele called the announcement a "solution that benefits the county while addressing many concerns that were raised."
The "Project Lincoln" proposal for Ky. 53 has been controversial since details first were made public in late March. Public outcry led Oldham County and La Grange officials to push for a freeze on data center applications until new planning regulations are approved.
"Our group is going to be extremely excited that they're off of (Ky.) 53 because that was highly inappropriate," said Don Erler, a vocal opponent of the initial plan. "But, at the same time, we're going to continue to push for proper regulations for these kinds of developments."
WHP representative Max Kepes told WDRB in April that his group works on land use and utility infrastructure for “several reputable end users” that he declined to identify.
Companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google typically are among the end users for the data centers, which include large buildings filled with computers, routers and servers that handle massive amounts of data from cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other online demands.
Meta, the parent of Facebook, is building a large data center at the River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville, Ind., while Louisville-based Poe Companies is working with PowerHouse Data Centers of Virginia on a project near Shively.
In Oldham County, neighbors and other critics have argued that the Ky. 53 location isn't the right fit and raised concerns about environmental, traffic, noise and other issues they say haven't been addressed.
WHP was seeking a conditional use permit to allow a data center on 267 acres now zoned for agriculture and conservation uses. That application asked to define the data center as a “private utility” and was pending before the county’s board of adjustments.
The Sauerbeck site is zoned for industrial use, Voegele said in his Facebook post. He said it "appears to be an appropriate location. It was recommended as an alternative by many neighbors near the proposed Highway 53 project."
Voegele said WHP has applied for a conditional use permit for the property and will follow the county's planning processes.
The application would avoid the moratorium, which hasn't yet been approved by the governing bodies.
The size, cost and other details about WHP's plans for the drive-in site were not immediately available Monday afternoon.
This story will be updated.
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