Data centers in Franklin County

Provident Data Centers is developing Gateway Digital Campus on more than 600 acres of former Diamond Farms agricultural land near the Highway 100 and I-44 interchange in Villa Ridge, Franklin County, with a 13 building, closed loop cooled plan that the company says will keep over half the site as undisturbed green space along a 1,000 foot buffer from neighbors. The Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval on April 21, 2026 after more than 170 residents weighed in, and the Franklin County Commission approved the agricultural to industrial rezoning on September 15, 2026. On October 8-9, 2026 the Franklin County Rural Coalition and neighboring landowners, represented by the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, sued in circuit court to overturn the rezoning, alleging illegal spot zoning and inadequate public notice.

Atlanta based Beltline Energy, through its BLE Landholdings subsidiary, is developing the Meramec Valley Technology Park, a roughly 16 building, 490 acre data center campus on the Crooked Creek farm property along Highway O south of Pacific, Missouri, distinct from an earlier $16 billion Beltline proposal inside Pacific city limits that was withdrawn in August 2026 after the city passed a moratorium. The Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission voted against recommending the county rezoning in April 2026, citing endangered bat and salamander habitat concerns, but the Franklin County Commission approved the agricultural to industrial rezoning anyway on September 15, 2026. On October 8-9, 2026 the Pacific ROOT Coalition and neighboring property owners sued in circuit court to overturn the approval, alleging illegal spot zoning and inadequate public notice.