Verrus, a data center development firm backed by Sidewalk Infrastructure, has filed a planning application with the City of Salem that sidesteps a state block on selling it public land and may undercut a potential moratorium on data centers the Salem City Council is due to discuss this week.
The application, filed by Alderstone, LLC on Verrus’s behalf, seeks permission for a “data center campus consisting of two one-story buildings with a total combined footprint of 600,000 square feet”.
This filing comes on the back of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek directing the Department of Administrative Services to terminate the state’s sale of roughly 32 acres of state-owned land at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in southeast Salem. As w.media reported last month, Verrus intends to build a data center campus on this land.
“This decision is about my responsibility to make sure state actions reflect Oregon’s values and serve the public interest,” said Kotek. “I believe in growing Oregon’s economy and welcoming new investment, including in the technology sector. But growth has to make sense for the community, for our infrastructure, and for our natural resources.”
However, the planning application filed last week doesn’t include land owned by the state at all, and is far larger than 75 acres previously reported.
Instead, the application lists Capstone Mill Creek Logistics LLC and Scannell Properties as the owners of three lots covering 100.2 acres, for the project. The application puts the total project valuation at US$ 394 million. The filing lists Nelson Abramson, Verrus Chief Executive Officer, as the applicant.
Because the project now sits on privately owned land, Kotek’s halt of the state sale no longer stands in the project’s way. What’s more, by filing this planning application last week Friday, it may have avoided a potential moratorium the Salem City Council is due to discuss on Monday. That said, whether the filing actually escapes such a moratorium may hinge on whether the city deems the application complete.
According to KATU 2 ABC, residents protested the development at a City Council meeting in Salem last week. It appears, from that report, that Verrus announced the data center before it filed a formal application, presented its design, infrastructure plan, and community benefit proposals. A non-disclosure agreement signed by the city has added further fuel to the fire with City Council members highlighting last week that this shouldn’t be allowed to happen again.
Verrus told KATU the data center would be built in a way that uses less water and electricity, and would bring 75 permanent jobs and millions in tax revenue to Salem. The project’s fate remains unsettled, with today’s City Council meeting likely to determine what happens next.