A proposed data center on Lower Moncure Road drew a large crowd to Monday’s Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting, where nearly 20 people spoke in opposition to the project.
The meeting room reached capacity, leaving additional residents to follow the proceedings from outside. Although the commissioners’ agenda did not include a vote or other action on the proposal, residents used the public-comment period to raise concerns and request a temporary pause on data center development.
Details of the Proposed Project
Virginia-based PointOne has applied for permission to construct a 300,000-square-foot data center on approximately 56 acres along Lower Moncure Road. If approved and built, the facility would be operated by Dallas-based CyrusOne.
The proposed facility is described as the first phase of a larger development covering approximately 430 acres. Plans for the remaining property have not been announced.
PointOne has said the project would add approximately $900 million to Lee County’s tax base and could generate at least $1 million in new tax revenue annually. If the necessary permits are approved, construction could begin this fall, with the facility becoming operational sometime in 2028.
Residents Raise Environmental and Infrastructure Concerns
Speakers questioned how the facility could affect nearby homes, public utilities and Lee County’s long-term development plans. Concerns included electricity consumption, water use, industrial cooling equipment, noise and backup diesel generators.
Some residents also questioned whether the project matched what they expected when the property was rezoned in August 2025. Residents said the earlier proposal had been presented as a traditional business park that could create hundreds of jobs.
Opponents argued that a large data center operating around the clock would be significantly different from the kind of light-industrial development they believed had originally been proposed.
Questions were also raised about the number of permanent jobs the facility would create and what could happen to the property if demand for large data centers declined in the future.
Calls for a Data Center Moratorium
Several speakers asked Lee County leaders to enact a temporary moratorium on data centers. Such a pause could give county officials additional time to study potential environmental effects, infrastructure demands and land-use regulations before allowing more projects to move forward.
Lee County and Sanford previously adopted rules governing data centers following speculation about another possible project involving natural gas extraction. Those regulations prohibit data centers associated with hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.
Commissioner Robert Reives Sr. said county leaders may need to do a better job of explaining the permitting process and clarifying which decisions are within the commissioners’ authority. He noted that zoning and development applications must move through established legal procedures before the board can act.
No decision was made Monday. The proposed Lower Moncure Road data center will remain a closely watched issue as the permitting process continues and county officials evaluate the project under existing development regulations.
Source: RantNC
