Plans for data center in Spring Hill withdrawn, leaving locals ‘relieved’
Worries about a possible data center coming to Spring Hill have been put to rest, after the applicant on Friday withdrew its request to rezone more than 300 acres of agricultural land for industrial use.
“It’s just amazing, we’re all happily stunned,” Spring Hill resident Carol Peterson told The Star.
Speculation around a data center in the rural Johnson County community began after the city issued notices that the Planning Commission would hold a public hearing on March 25 to discuss a rezone request for 316 acres on the southeast corner of 191st and Renner Road from a rural residential area to industrial.
The request had been originally scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on March 5, but the city rescheduled it so it wouldn’t conflict with other agenda items.
“I was shocked to see rural (residential) go to M1 (industrial),” Peterson said. “That was a shock.”
The rural property was first annexed into the city last December. While the city never identified what the land would be used for, residents speculated about the possibility of a data center coming to the rural neighborhood.
Regardless of the user, neighbors worried about the impacts of any industrial development to the nearby neighborhoods, city infrastructure, utility bills and schools within miles of the site. Seeing the city of Independence recently approve its own data center ramped up efforts among some residents.
“There’s a whole lot more going on in the world today, I totally appreciate that,” Peterson said. “But it’s hard to sit back, and if you can’t make a difference locally, I don’t know where you can.”
Residents circulated petitions, called and emailed their representatives, and shared information on social media to oppose the project. After weeks of effort, it appears to have paid off.
On Friday afternoon, Bullock Capital and Colossus Advisors announced they have decided to withdraw their application, saying they “are no longer pursuing the opportunity near 191st and Renner.”
“We are not involved with any future plans at that site,” the statement said.
Colossus Advisors is a firm that provides strategic, technical and financial advisory services for the data center lifecycle, including site selection, power procurement and development strategy, according to its website.
Spring Hill resident Michael Clutts said that he’s “relieved and grateful for everyone who engaged on this.”
“Our community asked legitimate questions, and it worked,” he said.
Following the applicant’s decision, the city of Spring Hill announced that its Special Planning Commission hearing, scheduled for March 25, was canceled.