HASKINS, Ohio — Plans for a $750 million data center in Middleton Township are progressing, but the name of the company developing it is still a secret.
Members of the township zoning commission and neighbors said at a meeting Wednesday all the secrecy sets a bad tone.
“That’s one thing that’s just really stuck in my craw,” said zoning commission member Ross Fought, who lives on North Dixie Highway across from the site. “Everybody keeps saying ‘We want to be a good neighbor.’”
“Well, not telling us who you are, not telling us who the end user is ... that’s not being a very good neighbor,” Mr. Fought said.
The data center will be located on farmland just west of I-75, both north and south of State Rt. 582 and east of State Rt. 25. The Wood County auditor’s website shows Liames LLC owns 900 acres in this area.
“Do we know who our new neighbor is going to be?” asked Pam Bittner.
“I’m not at liberty to disclose. It’s confidential,” said Luke Canan, associate program manager for Barge Design Solutions Inc.
“You’re moving into our township, our neighborhood — but we don’t know,” Ms. Bittner said.
Mr. Canan said a public announcement will probably be made in summer 2025 when construction “goes vertical, with buildings.”
Mr. Canan, who was only referred to as “Luke” during the meeting, was asked for his last name and title after the meeting. He would not provide it but said he had signed the township registry.
Mr. Fought urged those involved with the project to talk to the developer about buying the 22 affected properties around the data center.
“Why not just buy everybody out and be done with it?” he said, adding that the frontage could be sold for commercial outlets.
“I can’t get in front of it because we don’t have the name of the company,” Mr. Fought said. “We don’t know who this is so none of us can speak to him.”
Rex Huffman, executive director and general counsel of the Wood County Port Authority, said he would pass the information on to the developer. He added that in the past not everyone wanted to sell.
“That's the hard part, getting everybody to agree to sell,” Mr. Huffman said.
Wednesday’s zoning meeting was a continuation of a site plan review that was started in July.
Neighbors had questions about fencing, landscaping, tiling, and entrances.
Mr. Canan said there would be one entrance to the data center, off Route 25, when it’s finished. Construction vehicles will be entering from Route 582.
There will be trees, shrubs, and mounds separating the data center from private residences.
Seven ponds, which will be 20 to 30-feet deep, will be on site in phase one. There will be storm water in the ponds.
It was decided fencing, which could be unattractive and collect trash, would be eliminated.
John Schmitt, North Dixie Highway, is worried about construction noise as he battles cancer.
“If it gets noisy, I’ll be calling the sheriff as necessary,” he said.
Zoning commission members said site workers would adhere to normal working hours, which are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The site plan was approved unanimously by the zoning commission. There were no buildings approved.
Other changes are also coming to this area.
A $1.8 million roundabout will be built on Route 582 near the Northwestern Water and Sewer District. It is being paid for by the port authority.
Mr. Huffman said the 60-day construction will start Sept. 9.
Earlier Wednesday, Wade Gottschalk, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission, said the roundabout will help with construction as the data center is being built.
Mr. Gottschalk said he is bound by a nondisclosure agreement and cannot say who the company behind the data center is.
“I don’t think it’s anything nefarious; it’s just their corporate policy,” he said.
The data center is expected to employ 50 people who will earn around $80,000 annual salaries.
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