Data center development pressure is building in DeKalb County, Georgia, where a developer proposed a data center deal directly to a county commissioner even as the county maintains a moratorium on new data center applications, according to reporting from Decaturish.
The county extended its moratorium on data center applications through June 23, 2026, giving officials time to write zoning standards for an industry that has swept across metro Atlanta. Despite the pause, PCC-DeKalb has requested a special land use permit to build a 2 million square foot data center in Ellenwood, one of the largest projects proposed inside the county's borders.
DeKalb's caution stands out in a region racing the other direction. Neighboring counties have approved millions of square feet of capacity: QTS is building the 615-acre Project Excalibur campus in Fayette County at a cost expected to exceed $1 billion, DC BLOX closed $1.15 billion in financing for a 100-acre campus in Douglas County, and Microsoft's Palmetto campus is under construction in south Fulton County.
The direct approach to a commissioner highlights the stakes for developers. Land near transmission lines and fiber routes in metro Atlanta has become scarce, and counties that write restrictive rules can push billions of dollars in investment to neighboring jurisdictions.
Source: Decaturish - https://www.decaturish.com/news/dekalb/developer-proposed-data-center-deal-to-commissioner/article_9d3fe584-3bd5-4153-812d-cb6c2c72171f.html