Microsoft is planning a new data center campus outside Rome, Georgia.
The Rome Floyd County Development Authority (RFCDA) announced the $1 billion campus outside the city, in Floyd County, also reported by various local news outlets,
The campus, known as ‘Project Firecracker,’ will be on a 347-acre property on Huffaker Road, east of Fouche Gap Road.
Microsoft didn't share the campus specifications but wants it to go live in 2027-2028.
Microsoft is buying the land for $40,000 per acre, suggesting a purchase price of around $13.9 million. The company has been granted a 12-year tax abatement.
The county’s development authority reportedly began working with the property owner, Floyd County 118 LLC, in 2021 to rezone the property as Heavy Industrial.
Rome is in northeast Georgia, close to the state border with Alabama, and around 70 miles from the state's existing data center hub in Atlanta.
“This is a tremendous economic opportunity for our community that will have positive impacts for decades to come,” said Jimmy Byars, RFCDA chair.
“Rome and Floyd County’s industrial zoning and strong infrastructure led to our decision to locate our data center campus there. Today’s announcement is just the start of our mutual collaboration and Microsoft’s long term-term commitment to the local community,” added Microsoft’s director of community engagement, Paul Englis.
In 2021, Microsoft announced plans for a cloud region in Georgia known as East US 3.
The company is developing sites on the outskirts of Atlanta, in East Point and Palmetto in Fulton County, and Douglasville, Douglas County.
In April 2021 Microsoft bought 125 acres in East Point, with records showing the company plans to build a 250,000 sq ft (23,000 sq m) data center on the plot.
A recent Microsoft Community post suggests two buildings (ATL06 and ATL07) and an on-site substation are being developed; the company had previously planned three buildings (including ATL08).
Microsoft is also building another 250,000 sq ft data center development in Palmetto.
The company also bought 93 acres in nearby Douglasville, Douglas County for the third zone of the region.
