ROCKINGHAM – Rockingham City Council voted 4-1 to approve conditional rezoning for a proposed $1.2 billion data center campus on 165.07 acres at 316 Old Cheraw Highway.
The Sept. 8 decision changes the property from High Density Residential (R-7) to Conditional Light Industrial (I-1 CZ). The approved conditions limit the site’s principal use to a data center and related ancillary uses. Councilwoman Holly Howe cast the only opposing vote.
Terra Nexus Land Fund I LLC owns the property. City planning records describe a four-building campus and project about 30 full-time jobs when the development is complete. City staff presented the $1.2 billion figure as the anticipated full-buildout investment and said Rockingham is not offering city financial incentives.
The conceptual plan places four data center buildings and a proposed 16-acre electrical substation within the site. The approval is a land-use milestone; it is not a building permit, construction start or completed facility. WSOC-TV reported that no groundbreaking timetable was provided.
The conditional zoning includes operating and site-design requirements. The facility must use a closed-loop cooling system, maintain vegetative buffers of up to 300 feet, limit operational noise to 55 decibels at adjacent residential property lines and commission an annual noise study. Routine backup-generator testing is limited to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, excluding federal holidays.
Other conditions require zero light spillover onto adjoining residential property, preserve a cemetery from site clearing and construction, keep it outside security fencing and maintain pedestrian access. Two access drives are allowed from Old Cheraw Highway, with any road improvements subject to North Carolina Department of Transportation requirements.
City staff estimated that a completed project valued at $1.2 billion could generate about $6.6 million in annual city property tax at the current rate, compared with an existing citywide taxable value of about $824 million. That estimate depends on the campus being developed and assessed as proposed.
Twenty-one people spoke during the public hearing, with most opposing the rezoning, according to the Richmond County Daily Journal. The 4-1 vote authorizes the conditional zoning while leaving construction, permitting and operational milestones for later action.