VAN WERT, Ohio — The Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation announced that the City of Van Wert has been chosen as the location for a new $2 billion data center for an undisclosed technology company.
Brent Stevens, the corporation’s executive director, described the property as a “megasite.” The “megasite” measures 1,475 acres. The developer intends to build on 220 acres initially, with the possibility of expanding later. The “megasite” is bounded by US 30 to the south, Marsh Rd. to the west, and Gilliland Rd. to the east.
Van Wert has been searching for a tenant for the “megasite” since 2009. The conversation with the current company interested in purchasing the land began in January 2024. According to Stevens, the property was always intended to stimulate economic growth through job creation.
The data center is expected to generate 250 jobs directly. Though that’s not a large number of new jobs, Stevens believes it’s ideal for Van Wert. Van Wert (pop. 11,123) cannot easily accommodate thousands of new jobs.
“As we talked with the commissioners, with the mayor, and other stakeholders in Van Wert, it became real evident that this fits in a perfect box for us,” Stevens told the crowd.
Stevens stated that the number of new jobs will not strain the area’s existing infrastructure. And for every job created at the data center, the development is expected to create nine more jobs, such as building maintenance, security, and so on.
Power and water needs
While the undisclosed company is not expected to close on the property until the end of July, Stevens said the deal has a 100% chance of going through. The company has already made a $1 million payment to American Electric Power (AEP) and signed a 5-year $72 million contract.
“Now that the signature is made, if they don’t bring an end user here, they owe a lot of money,” Stevens pointed out. “So, I say 100% because they’re not going to allow that kind of investment to just fade away.”
According to Stevens, a developer on the project singled out Van Wert because they “happen to have the availability of electricity.” According to him, AEP has stated that they can provide the necessary power to operate the data center.
This project is relatively large in terms of data centers. The project has a contract for 500 megawatts of generated power.
“Obviously, in the U.S., we have a power generation problem,” Stevens told the audience. “But in this particular area, there is a supply and demand situation. Clearly, our area has less demand than Columbus. That is why they moved to Van Wert. “We have all these windmills out here.”
It is unclear how much water and power will be used by this data center, but based on similar developments, it will be a significant amount. Water will not be an issue, according to Stevens. He said water would be extracted from Town Creek. He stated that water from the creek can be routed to a reservoir being built by an undisclosed company. Another option is to use the same water that Van Wert uses every day, treat it after it passes through the data center, and then return it to Town Creek.
“One of the things we really try to emphasize to people is that we’re not going to take any water away from them,” Stevens told the crowd.
Who’s paying?
According to Stevens, no taxpayer money will be used to fund this project. The undisclosed company will also subsidize any necessary new infrastructure.
“We’re a small community,” Stevens explained. “We cannot afford large infrastructure upgrades. We do not have any money to spend. The data centers will bear the responsibility.
According to Stevens, if a reservoir must be built, the buyer of the property is responsible for doing so. He also stated that residents’ base electricity rates should not be affected. Stevens stated that the groundbreaking is expected in 2026.
