{"id":2292,"date":"2026-06-27T14:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2292"},"modified":"2026-06-27T14:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:03:56","slug":"a-charlotte-suburb-had-embraced-data-centers-now-its-rethinking-that-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2292","title":{"rendered":"A Charlotte suburb had embraced data centers. Now, it\u2019s rethinking that growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

As data center construction concerns<\/a> continue to rise nationally and locally, Catawba County leaders want its residents to see the economic benefits<\/a> they can produce. However, while the county is touting its existing investments, data center growth isn\u2019t part of its economic future.<\/p>\n

Read more Who Should Play Tucker\u2019s Love Interest Sabrina on \u2018Off Campus\u2019?<\/a><\/p>\n

In a Tuesday letter to residents,<\/a> the county explained why it\u2019s still moving forward with its $1 billion investment agreement with Microsoft<\/a> to build four data centers in the Hickory region, which is about an hour north of Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Catawba County, along with other parts of North Carolina, have become a mecca for data center construction as demand for AI tools has increased.<\/p>\n

But the rapid surge in construction has created conflict around the Charlotte region, as many residents have opposed the data centers<\/a>. They cited concerns about noise, water usage and the significant power needs of the centers, which often appear in communities with limited public disclosure.<\/p>\n

A number of local cities have enacted moratoriums on data center development, including Charlotte which just approved a 150-day moratorium on data center construction<\/a> and rezoning this month.<\/p>\n

Construction on the Microsoft centers began this year<\/a> in Conover, Hickory, Maiden and Newton, after the projects were delayed for about 10 months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That construction, along with concerns surrounding water usage, prompted the county to write the letter, according to Scott Millar, president of that Catawba County Economic Development Corp.<\/p>\n

It gave the county a chance to try to further sell the deal to residents and explain why the agreement is vital to the area\u2019s economic development. The letter was a joint statement from the county, the EDC, the cities of Conover and Hickory and the town of Maiden.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s billion-dollar investment commitment has the chance to increase as it did with the county\u2019s agreement with Apple<\/a>, which built its largest data center in Maiden<\/a> in 2010. That was also one of the first centers in the county.<\/p>\n

Catawba County noted that the Microsoft data centers will pay property taxes based on the value of the buildings, equipment and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Data center tax benefits<\/a> have been substantial, with Maiden seeing its tax rate drop from 40 cents to 38 cents, while funding a community center, town hall and emergency services, Millar previously said.<\/p>\n

And since the centers generally have low employee numbers, the centers don\u2019t add to commuter traffic or place demand for other municipal services.<\/p>\n

As for water concerns<\/a>, the county said the city Hickory provides water service to all the data centers in the region. Once all the centers under construction are completed, they will use about 1% of Hickory\u2019s daily water production capacity.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, Catawba County was reliant on the textile and furniture industries, as was most of the Piedmont area.<\/p>\n

Read more Charlotte data center\u2019s expansion plan no longer includes saving historic facade<\/a><\/p>\n

But those industries were beginning to wane<\/a> at that time and continue to do so. For example, Kroehler Furniture Co. had a plant in Conover for over 40 years. In December, the company laid off 275 workers with only a two-day notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To stay afloat, Catawba County sought to diversify its economic gains and began looking into data centers.<\/p>\n

Apple opened its center in Maiden, which is about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. Apple said it would invest $1 billion into the region. That\u2019s grown to $6 billion<\/a>, Millar said.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Bed Bath & Beyond opened a data center in Claremont, which was worth $36.8 million. That site was sold to Data Journey, a co-location center, last year, Business North Carolina previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And Microsoft arrived in the county in 2022. It said it would invest $1 billion to build four data centers in Conover, Hickory, Maiden and Newton. Those communities are about 40 to 60 miles north of Charlotte.<\/p>\n

The project would create at least 50 jobs. Microsoft has until 2032 to fulfill its investment agreement. The four data centers will cost Microsoft a combined $909 million, according to the construction permits.<\/p>\n

Perhaps residents\u2019 biggest concern is whether Catawba County will continue to seek out data center investments for the region.<\/p>\n

The answer is no, Millar said.<\/p>\n

Catawba County was considered the catalyst for the modern data center boom in North Carolina, establishing a \u201cData Center Corridor\u201d in the early 2000s, which includes Caldwell, Rutherford, and Cleveland counties.<\/p>\n

And in 2006, the county began pursuing data center investments to replace the downturn of its textile, furniture and coaxial cable industries. The county even hosted data center information exchanges, where it would invite investors to look at Apple\u2019s complex and see whether they could build similar centers, Millar said.<\/p>\n

But that hasn\u2019t occurred for the past several years, Millar added.<\/p>\n

While Catawba has agreements with Apple and Microsoft on data center development, and it will continue to support both companies, the county isn\u2019t pursuing more investments from that sector, according to Millar.<\/p>\n

If another data center developer is looking to build in Catawba, the county would look into it as it does with all proposals, but it wouldn\u2019t be a strong contender as it was in the past, Millar said.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Data centers) are an important part of our industrial stack,\u201d Millar said. \u201cWe\u2019re not actively chasing that sector for new investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had other opportunities and other people seek us out because of the name recognition. We\u2019re a known marketplace, but we\u2019re choosing to go in a different direction,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to go off and pursue other sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 5 places to celebrate the Fourth of July in Charlotte \u2014 without fireworks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catawba County defends its $1 billion Microsoft data center agreement, local tax benefits, water use impact and how centers support economic diversification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nA Charlotte suburb had embraced data centers. 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