FW: Atlanta Business Chronicle: City of Forsyth P & Z Board delays discussion of proposed $21 billion Trammell Crow data center
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From: Mark Woodall <woodal...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2025 9:36 AM
Subject: Atlanta Business Chronicle: City of Forsyth P & Z Board delays discussion of proposed $21 billion Trammell Crow data center
By Lauren McDonald – Contributing Reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Dec 24, 2025
Updated Dec 24, 2025 7:03am EST
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Story Highlights
What’s This?
- The city of Forsyth’s planning and zoning board has delayed a decision on a $21B data center project that would be one of the largest in Georgia.
- Trammell Crow, the developer, seeks to build 21 data centers spanning 14M square feet.
- The project, which has raised concerns among residents and county officials, will be discussed again Jan. 14.
The city of Forsyth’s planning and zoning board opted Dec. 22 to table its discussion of a proposed data center campus that, if approved, could be one of the largest in the state.
The Forsyth Technology Campus, a $21 billion project that drew early opposition in the community located about 60 miles southeast of Atlanta, will be discussed again at a special meeting Jan. 14.
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The planning and zoning board's agenda for Dec. 22 included a public hearing on Peachtree Corners-based timber company H&H Timberland’s rezoning request for around 1,632 acres in the city for the data center campus.
The developer, Trammell Crow Co., is looking to build a campus with possibly 21 data centers spanning up to 14 million square feet at Johnstonville and Smith roads in Forsyth.
H&H Timberlands LLC owns the property. Trammell Crow Co. says the project will bring in around $222.4 million in annual taxes. If approved, the campus is expected to be built by 2037.
Data centers are a controversial subject in and around Atlanta and across the country. Residents and leaders of Monroe County, where Forsyth is located, pushed back earlier this year against a separate proposed data center project, and the county commission ultimately denied its construction.
Forsyth planning and zoning board member Kathy Rowland proposed at the Dec. 22 hearing that the zoning board delay its vote on whether the city commission should approve the project. The delay is intended to provide additional time to review public comments made through the state’s development of regional impact review process, which is currently underway.
The Middle Georgia Regional Commission oversees the DRI process for major proposed commercial or industrial developments in that part of the state. The commission opened a 15-day public comment period for the Forsyth Technology campus project Dec. 8, according to a post by the Monroe County Commission, which voted Dec. 16 to submit a response.
The Monroe County Commission’s written response raised concerns about the water usage and road improvements associated with the project and about political recourse opportunities for county citizens, according to a post on the commission’s Facebook page.
“This is an opportunity for one municipality to publicly share concerns with another,” said County Commissioner Eddie Rowland, according to the Facebook post. “It solicits comments and concerns. It’s not disrespectful, not demanding, not meddling, not overstepping authorities. The response I give today is a summary of factual concerns I determined to be most impactful to Monroe County.”
The county commission also recently placed a moratorium on new data center projects in the county until March. The Forsyth Technology Campus proposal, however, will be approved or denied at the city level due to its location.
Community opponents also turned out to the latest zoning hearing to speak against and question the project, according to local media reports.
Trammel Crow has said the Forsyth Technology Campus would create 500 to 700 jobs as well as hundreds of construction jobs. The developer also pledged to cover the cost of city infrastructure improvements needed for the project.
The Forsyth City Commission was originally scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on the project Jan. 5.