A project like this benefits the community in a different way than a retail store, restaurant, or other public-facing business. Residents may not interact with the facility as they would with a shop or service, but it can still provide meaningful value to the community.  Data centers employ skilled workers with competitive salaries and benefits but do not generate large amounts of traffic or large delivery trucks.

One of the most important benefits is the addition of significant commercial property value to the City’s tax base. That tax base helps support critical municipal services residents rely on every day, including police, fire, streets, sanitation, and other core services. Expanding and diversifying the commercial tax base is important because it helps the City provide those services without placing the same level of added burden on existing residential and other property owners. Additional tax base and revenue helps stabilize and potentially reduce the property tax rate in our community.

The project can also help diversify Salisbury’s economy. A healthy local economy includes a mix of residential, commercial, industrial, and technology-related investment. Diversification strengthens the community over time and helps reduce reliance on any one type of land use or revenue source.

In addition, this type of project represents major private investment in the community and can provide long-term value through improvements to the property and surrounding area. It can also make productive use of land that is vacant or already industrial in character, while adding to the City’s overall financial stability.

The company would pay 100 percent of its real and personal property taxes. The developer has not requested any incentives from the City, and the City has not offered any incentives that would reduce its property tax obligation. As proposed, the project would be fully subject to city and county property taxes.

Industries, including data centers, pay property taxes to cities and counties. Residents and neighborhoods benefit from these taxes as the revenue helps pay for roads, housing, parks, transportation, police, fire, recreation, schools and other public services provided by local governments.  Additionally, economic development, including data centers and other industries, benefit communities by adding jobs that employ and compensate citizens.  Salisbury has not used specific benefit agreements for economic development projects but has captured infrastructure requirements as part of incentive/developer agreements.  There is no incentive agreement recommended or requested for the proposed data center project on Henderson Grove Church Road.  The City works with developers, Rowan Economic Development Commission and others, to encourage additional community benefits through economic development projects including commitments to local hiring, training programs, and adequate pay and benefits.

 

Based on the company’s early estimates, the facility is expected to create approximately 40 jobs. That number could change as the project moves forward and the final operating plan is developed. Data centers typically create jobs in two phases. During construction, they support temporary jobs in site work, building construction, electrical work, and other skilled trades. Once the facility is operating, they employ permanent staff in areas such as operations, maintenance, security, and technical support.

In addition to the direct jobs at the facility, data centers can also support ancillary jobs through contractors, vendors, and service providers that assist with maintenance, landscaping, equipment servicing, utilities, and other operational needs.

While concerns about property values are understandable, there is not clear evidence that data centers uniformly reduce nearby property values. Impacts can vary based on the specific location, surrounding land uses, site design, screening, and operational characteristics, which is why the City has focused on increasing setbacks and buffering to provide greater separation from adjacent properties.  In some cities, data centers have increased property values of nearby properties.

 

This project aligns with Salisbury’s Strategic Plan in two key ways. It represents private investment that can strengthen the tax base and support City services, and it does so without creating the same traffic, freight, and service demands as many other large-scale developments. That makes it consistent with the City’s goals for quality growth, sustainability, and responsible infrastructure planning.

Unlike a shopping center, warehouse, or other high-traffic commercial use, a data center does not generate the same level of daily customer traffic, delivery activity, or heavy truck movement. As a result, it has less impact on surrounding roads, produces fewer vehicle-related emissions, and creates less congestion than many other large-scale developments.

It also generally requires fewer day-to-day municipal services. It does not create the same need for public parking, frequent traffic management, or other routine City services that often accompany more active commercial uses.

For any incentive agreement approved by the City of Salisbury, the agreement must be considered and approved by City Council in a public meeting and includes a public hearing for citizens to share concerns and thoughts for Council consideration.  Any proposed agreements are made public prior to Council consideration with release of meeting agenda.  For the proposed data center project on Henderson Grove Church Road, no incentive has been approved by City Council. No incentive is recommended by the City for this project, and no incentive is being requested by the project developer or data center company. 

The previous incentive agreement was with MidAtlantic Development V, Inc. for a proposed 500,000-square-foot industrial facility. The project was expected to include an estimated $35 million investment, and Council approved an incentive equal to a 90 percent reimbursement of real property taxes paid over a three-year period. Council approved the agreement on April 5, 2022, and later approved a one-year extension on February 20, 2024. The project did not move forward, and the incentive agreement expired on December 31, 2025.

Typically, Salisbury Fire Department (SFD) cost is zero when we partner with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) for firefighter training.   Fire Chief Parnell has toured a Flexential Data Center, and SFD has scheduled a meeting with RCCC regarding specific data center response training.  Through RCCC and SFD, all area emergency response agencies will have access to such training.

SFD has already had training for data center components including electrical equipment, batteries, and fuels. We evaluate building plans, design and contents to assure our training is current.  Additionally, we have specific specialized teams including the hazardous materials team for any such needs. We do not anticipate any significant cost for additional training. 

The Salisbury Fire Department enforces the state Building Code Council Volume 5 (the fire code) that includes facility fire safety compliance and components.  Extinguishers, sprinkler systems, alarm and notifications systems, exits and egress, access and vehicle fire lanes, internal and external separations, and electrical disconnect systems, and other fire safety facilities are included.  We inspect properties according to Volume 5 frequencies.  Radio signals for internal/external fire communication are held to code. 

In North Carolina, any cleanup of sites is the responsibility of the spiller with oversight of state and local specialists.  The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Emergency Management and Rowan County Emergency Management have a specific ordinance regarding clean ups along with a very specific assignment of responsibility and oversight of which we enforce and support.