Tribune News Service — The extreme southern corner of Hays County is set to turn into a cluster of giant data centers, with at least some of them feeding off the energy created by a nearby natural gas power plant to satisfy demand for data processing and artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday, the San Marcos City Council is scheduled to consider a proposal to build a data center on 786 acres southeast of Old Bastrop Road and Francis Harris Lane. It is the third data center to be proposed within 1 1/2 miles of the Hays Energy Power Plant at 1601 Francis Harris Lane, about 7 1/2 miles south of San Marcos’ downtown.
The latest data center is being proposed by a partnership with ties to Washington-based Sabey Data Centers. The partnership also includes an entity linked to the San Marcos real estate firm Carson Properties.
The partnership is seeking an agreement with the city to “guide the development” of the data center, according to the city council agenda. The partnership is seeking waivers to the city’s development code.
The development plan would extend the city’s planning authority over the site, which now sits in its extraterritorial jurisdiction. It would “provide the terms of annexation” for the property, according to a draft of the agreement attached to the agenda.
The property is now owned by the entity linked to Carson Properties, which is asking for improvements to be made to Francis Harris Lane, according to the draft agreement
The first two data centers proposed in the cluster have already met with opposition from people who live nearby and other Hays County residents concerned about their impact on the local environment — especially the water supply.
Last month, dozens of county residents packed a meeting of the Hays County Commissioners Court to voice opposition to an artificial intelligence data center set to begin construction in July.
The Denver-based startup CloudBurst Data Centers, founded in 2022, wants to build the data center on 96 acres of rural land it purchased in February at 2955 Francis Harris Lane.
About 2 miles from the potential CloudBurst site, another center is planned on a 200-acre property at 904 Francis Harris Lane. The owners of two adjacent properties there are asking the city of San Marcos to rezone the site as light industrial so the facility can be built.
Also on Tuesday, the San Marcos council is scheduled to receive public comment on whether to amend the city’s comprehensive plan to allow for that data center to be built. The zoning for the site would be changed from “character district 2.5” — allowing for single-family residential — to light industrial. In March, the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the plan change.
On Tuesday, the council is expected to vote on whether to authorize city staff to begin negotiating a development agreement with the partnership behind the Sabey data center. City staff has recommend approval.
The partnership plans to develop 184 acres of the site, abutting the power plant, with a “state-of-the-art data center” and an electrical substation from the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, according to the agenda. At least 392 acres of the site would be left as open space. A “future complete neighborhood” is also proposed on part of the sprawling site.
The application for the development agreement is signed by John Wilson, chief financial officer of Sabey Data Centers, and John David Carson, operations and development lead with Carson Properties.
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Plans Call for Third Data Center in Growing Hill County Cluster
The San Marcos City Council is scheduled to consider a proposal to build a data center on 786 acres southeast of Old Bastrop Road and Francis Harris Lane.
