If You Have to Build a Data Center . . .

A friend recently asked me why I was so against data centers, I looked at him and clarified that while I do think we need data centers, I reasonably questioned some of those proposed in Coweta County. 

Afterall, every time we use Siri, Alexa, email, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Tik Tok, and so much more, we are using data centers. To pretend that we could put the AI genie back in the bottle would be unrealistic.

However, when I look at the data centers built along Tyrone Road and Highway 54, I am certain that we can find other options than convert every available square inch of rural land into industrial data centers. 

In other states, data centers have been either planned or implemented in reclaimed industrial or other abandoned properties.

In 2023, Golden Flake parent company Utz Brands closed the Birmingham manufacturing facility after 65 years of production. In 2024, Chattanooga-based second in Building Materials, Inc. acquired the 37-acre campus with plans to create a mixed-use destination featuring retail, warehouse, office, and industrial space called the Factory at Golden Flake. 

In June 2025, Southeastern digital infrastructure company DC Blox purchased 15.7 acres of the Factory at Golden Flake for $2.5 million. DC Blox is an Atlanta-based developer of digital infrastructure—including data centers and fiber networks. So, while the Golden Flake property is becoming a mixed-use development, a significant portion is being dedicated to data center development.

In other examples, the former R.R. Donnelley & Sons printing factory in Chicago’s South Loop—once one of the largest printers in the U.S., producing everything from Bibles to Sears catalogs—is now the Lakeside Technology Center, one of the largest data centers in the world. The vertical shafts that moved heavy stacks of paper now route fiber optic cables, and floors built to support printing presses now support server racks. The ConversationColocation America

A former aluminum plant in Massena, New York has been reborn as a data center. The site is attractive because it was originally built to accommodate the extreme heat from smelting, providing natural air conditioning for the computer servers. NPR

A Pennsylvania steel plant, a North Carolina textile mill, and an Alabama coal-fired power plant have been repurposed as homes for data centers. Amazon is also retrofitting an old biscuit factory in Ireland into a data center. NPRColocation America The former Chicago Sun-Times printing facility became a 320,000-square-foot data center. The Conversation

Another opportunity is dead malls with massive square footage provide an affordable and strategic way to expand data center capacity without building on undeveloped land. Companies such as Aligned Data Centers and Digital Realty have invested in repurposing large buildings across the U.S. Bizblog Ubiquity, a real estate company, has over 3,200 properties including closed Sears stores and dozens of Kmart stores, with plans to reposition them as data centers and disaster recovery sites in mall locations. Colocation America

The appeal is clear: Industrial buildings often have idle electrical capacity in the surrounding substations, heavy floors designed for equipment weight, vertical shafts for running cables, and the infrastructure was built for past industrial eras that had similar demands. Retail centers already have expansive floor space, fiber connections, utilities, and HVAC systems that can be retrofitted with modest upgrades compared to buildings from scratch. The ConversationTitanpower

As a mentioned in an earlier column, in Georgia, data center sales tax exemptions are projected to hit an estimated $625 million in foregone revenue in the next fiscal year—up from just $10 million in 2020, according to a state audit. The audit, conducted by the University of Georgia, also found about 70% of data center construction activity in the state would have occurred even without the tax exemption. (source) Data Center Backlash Forces States to Rethink Generous Tax Break

While the need for data centers exists and must be addressed, there are numerous examples of properties that meet the above examples and already exist. These opportunities must be the priority instead of seeking to locate these data centers near our neighborhoods. 

As alternative to sales tax credits that encourage new development, it might be more reasonable for the State of Georgia to offer targeted redevelopment credits for data centers that reclaim properties rather than claim more of rural Georgia. These credits can be targeted and designed to attract the “right” kind of development.

As I said above, data centers are important and necessary, however, it is as important that we value Georgia’s rural space as much, if not more.