Developers of Project Saltworks have ended negotiations with Young County officials over a property tax abatement, Young County Judge Edwin "Win" Graham said in a Facebook post. Graham said the developers no longer seek the reduction and hope to begin construction as early as next month. He also said the site has grown from about 850 acres to 2,500 acres.
Graham said county commissioners, attorneys and consultants had spent several months negotiating an agreement. He said the developers ended the talks because of community opposition to the negotiations. The proposed agreement included funding for 10 additional sheriff's deputies, emergency dispatch money, water use limits, noise limits, a 500-foot property buffer, a 150-foot vegetative barrier, dark-sky lighting rules and preservation of more than half the property as green space.
Headwaters Site Development is developing the multibuilding campus near Graham. Earlier project materials described up to 15 data center buildings and electrical substations. The developer had estimated more than 1,000 construction jobs during peak activity and more than 200 permanent positions. Those estimates were published before the site expansion.