Next step in approving proposed Columbus data center is delayed. Here’s when and why
The Columbus Consolidated Government’s proposed technology overlay district ordinance, which would create rules for building data centers and related technology uses in Muscogee County, will likely come before the Columbus Council in May, instead of the originally expected timeframe of April, city officials said Thursday.
Last month, the Columbus Planning Advisory Commission voted to recommend passing the ordinance, along with creating a new commission specifically for data centers.
The ordinance would provide mandatory guideline minimums for data centers built in Columbus, PAC chairman Brad Baker told the Ledger-Enquirer after the March 18 meeting.
A date for the city council’s first reading of the ordinance hasn’t been scheduled, Choose Columbus president and CEO Missy Kendrick said during the Development Authority of Columbus meeting Thursday. But after the meeting, Columbus deputy city manager Pam Hodge explained the delay and the new timeframe.
“There are advertising requirements that prevented it from being on April 14th agenda,” Hodge told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Thursday. “We have key staff members out of the office on April 28th, so our goal is to have the first reading on the May 14th agenda.”
Now is the time for any additional regulation suggestions to be sent to the city council, Kendrick told the Development Authority, so they can be added to the ordinance.
Project Ruby background
Choose Columbus announced in February the Development Authority is working with Georgia-based Habitat Real Estate Partners on Project Ruby, the development of a “private and secure site” to build a hyperscale data center for an undisclosed company that “includes a multiyear capital investment that could total more than $5.18 billion, spanning land acquisition, building construction and equipment installation between 2027 and 2030.”
Two weeks later, the Ledger-Enquirer confirmed the site comprises 865 acres of wildland in northeastern Muscogee County, bordering Harris County and Talbot County.
Based on the 2025 combined millage rates from the city and the Muscogee County School District, Project Ruby would generate escalating annual property tax revenue, climbing to $68.7 million per year by 2030 before depreciation, and the data center would create 195 jobs with salaries ranging from $80,000 to $120,000 per year, Choose Columbus said in its February news release.
Even if the city council approves the technology overlay district ordinance, the ensuing steps from proposal to final approval for Project Ruby require the applicant to receive approval from the PAC and the council on a yet-to-be-submitted rezoning request, followed by permits for environmental and regulatory compliance before construction could start.
Kendrick has mentioned Georgia-based Atlas Development along with Habitat Real Estate Partners as Project Ruby’s developers, but the company that would be the proposed data center’s end user hasn’t been disclosed, although Kendrick has said it would be one of the “Big 5” hyperscalers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Meta (Facebook) or Apple.
While proponents of Project Ruby tout the economic benefits of a hyperscale data center, opponents have expressed concerns about environmental risks and possible utility rate increases. City councilors and mayoral candidates have had mixed reactions.
Kendrick has been hosting public meetings to answer questions about Project Ruby, and she has said some answers have been misrepresented, but some residents have complained officials aren’t answering their questions about the proposal.
If the first reading of this proposed ordinance at a Columbus Council meeting indeed is May 14, it will be five days before the May 19 election day for mayor, city council and school board.
Jordyn Paul-Slater contributed reporting for this story.
