
Last month, Amazon purchased around 1,000 acres of land south of Atlanta for possible data center development as the state continues to be at the forefront of the fast-growing industry of digital storage space.
The deal was between a subsidiary of Amazon called Amazon Data Services and High Falls 75 LLC, the developer behind the Legacy 75 Trade Center, on July 25 for $270 million, according to a local news outlet.
The land is located in Lamar County, and while the tech company hasn’t publicly disclosed what the land will be used for, it said in a statement to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that it is eyeing the property for “possible data center locations.”
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“The exact details of Amazon’s intended development will be presented during upcoming pre-construction meetings with the county. At these meetings, Amazon will clarify their plans, providing greater insight into the nature and scope of their project,” said Lamar County Board of Commissioners Chairman Ryran Traylor in a statement.
“We recognize that industrial developments can impact surrounding properties, and we are committed to ensuring that this new project brings the minimal possible disruption to neighboring areas and Lamar County as a whole,” Traylor said.
Data centers, which are warehouses filled with computers, help to store, process, and manage data and applications on a large scale. These centers are utilized by companies like banks, online retailers, streaming platforms, and tech companies like Microsoft and Google.
In 2024, the city of Atlanta became the top place in the country for the most leasing activity of data centers and was also the city with the second-largest amount of active data center space, according to real estate services firm CBRE.
Earlier this year, Amazon announced that it plans to invest $11 billion into data center development in Georgia.
Environmental advocates and lawmakers alike have raised concerns about the ramifications of the state’s unprecedented boom of data centers due to possible hikes these centers could cause in utility bills for residents and their overall massive energy and water use.
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Science for Georgia, an advocacy group, estimates that as of February, all the current and planned data centers in the state would require the same amount of energy that it takes to power around 3.9 million homes.
Data centers also need water to operate so that air conditioning can continuously run to keep the computers inside the facility from overheating. Science for Georgia estimates that all current data centers in the state require around 27 billion gallons of water a year to operate.
In June, Atlanta leaders expanded existing restrictions and limitations on data center development in the city by strengthening zoning restrictions and requiring developers to seek a special-use permit from the city before construction.
And earlier this year during Georgia’s 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 34, proposed by state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, set out to protect residents from high energy bill costs created by data centers, but it failed to pass.
As utility bills continue to rise, Black residents face some of the highest consequences as they already experience disproportionately high energy burdens due to less energy-efficient homes, historic disinvestment, and discrimination.
“It seems to me that given that water rates and electric rates are going to keep increasing, it will place a heavier burden on Black people and others who have a hard time making ends meet,” Chris Manganiello, the water policy director for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, told Capital B Atlanta in March.
The post Amazon’s $270 Million Land Deal Sparks Data Center Concerns in Georgia appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
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