Controversial Oldham County data center project dropped after backlash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The company behind the highly debated plan to build a data center in Oldham County is dropping the project.

Real estate developers Western Hospitality Partners (WHP) released a statement Thursday that said it's withdrawing its application to build the facility. The company said it would have been Kentucky's largest economic development project.

"From the outset, the company aimed to work closely with local stakeholders, hosting several open house meetings to introduce the team and explain the benefits of the proposed data center, including new tax revenue for local communities, schools, police, and other services," the WHP statement said. "However, due to community opposition and in keeping with WHP’s promise to the community, the project will be withdrawn and will not proceed."

The announcement from WHP marks the end of months of tension in the county, and for some residents, is a major grassroots victory.

“It’s over,” said Barry Laws, a local resident who became a vocal opponent of the project. “When it first started, people said it was a done deal. I said, ‘Wanna bet?’ Now a few folks owe me 100 bucks.”

Debate over the proposed data center also brought allegations of corruption, bribery and other claims against Oldham County's top elected official, Judge-Executive David Voegele.

Voegele spoke at the start of a special meeting of the fiscal court Tuesday that approved a proposed moratorium on data centers. The body voted, 4-2, with three members abstaining, to place the 150-day pause on data center applications with no exceptions. The freeze was meant to allow county planners to update land-use rules for the tech developments.

The Sauerbeck Family Drive-In, which has operated for nearly seven years off D.W. Griffith Lane in La Grange, had been mentioned as the preferred location for the controversial tech project initially envisioned on KY 53.

WHP's statements said it currently has no plans to develop a data center in Oldham County, but they did reinforce Kentucky is a "state full of opportunity and strong interest for future projects."

The grassroots nonprofit and a major opponent of the project, We Are Oldham County, said in a statement Thursday it is elated WHP will not pursue any other attempts to bring a data center to the county.

"While we are happy to hear the news, we are still saddened at how the process played out," the organization said in a statement Thursday. "Private citizens were forced to invest what should have been unnecessary time, funds, and emotional toil to hold our elected officials accountable. It is unfortunate that our citizens were forced to protect themselves from our own government."

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