This is a breaking story. The Independent will have further coverage in coming days.
ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — A New York firm has shown interest in building a data center in central Athens County.
Athens County Planner Connor LaVelle confirmed to the Independent on Wednesday that Saadia Holding LLC has asked about land-use regulations for property along the Athens-Dover township line off U.S. 33. The firm wants to build a data center on the land, Lavelle said.
Earlier this year, Saadia attempted to buy a 41-acre property in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which was widely believed to be for a data center. The Columbia Borough Council rejected a $6.35 million offer from Saadia in May.
The Athens County land encompasses nearly 300 acres on six parcels fronting U.S. 33 across from Athens High School. According to Athens County Auditor records, the land is owned by NML Gallia LLC. That company is registered to Harold Laughlin of Athens, according to Ohio Secretary of State records.
A Saadia representative first contacted LaVelle via email on July 14 and asked about a zoning variance for data center use, required documentation and utility information. LaVelle responded on July 17 with information about the six parcels the company is interested in, zoning in Athens and Dover townships, and water, sewer and floodplain regulations.
A local source, who requested anonymity for fear of repercussions, told the Independent that Saadia Holding then held a teleconference with township, county and City of Athens officials. In that meeting, the source said, Saadia said it would likely build a 250,000 square foot facility and employ 100 people.
LaVelle and Meghan Jennings, Athens City Planner, confirmed that the teleconference took place. Jennings told the Independent that “prospective development meetings” are a common occurence and are used to inform companies about relevant zoning and development regulations.
“[Saadia Holding LLC] have not submitted anything formal,” Jennings said. “They were just inquiring about the processes that would be necessary in order to get a development application reviewed and potentially approved for a data center use on the property.”
Jennings later added that her and Tom Pyle, director of Athens City Code Enforcement, were present in the meeting to represent the city. According to section 711.09 of the Ohio Revised Code, city planning commissions must approve any subdivision of land within three miles of city limits.
“That’s the city’s sole role in reviewing development: its to make sure that if the city ends up annexing that land, growing outwards towards that land and bringing it into city limits, we want to make sure that the property lines work with our regulations,” Jennings said. “[The city] also wants to make sure that any public infrastructure that is provided meets our current standards.”
Oscar Carson, superintendent of the Athens County Water and Sewer District, told the Independent that he didn’t attend the meeting directly and instead had LaVelle ask questions in his place.
Carson was told that the plant would require 100,000 gallons of water to fill up its cooling system, with that water then being recirculated. The data center would then require 10,000 to 20,000 gallons a month to keep the cooling system full.
“[Saadia Holding LLC] basically just wanted to see if water was available there and if we can serve them, and the way I understand it, they’re not going to be using a huge amount of water,” Carson said.
Known as closed-loop cooling systems, this setup reduces the amount of water consumed by data centers, according to an article published by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. Most existing data centers use evaporative cooling systems, which has led to the industry’s reputation for excessive water use.
However, closed-loop systems do not affect indirect water consumption, such as water used to generate the electricity that powers a data center. A 2024 analysis by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that data centers’ indirect water use is about 12 times more than the amount directly consumed.
And closed-loop systems may require more energy to cool the water in the system, Politico has reported.
In addition to Carson and Jennings, local officials included on the email exchange between Saadia and LaVelle were Tom Pyle; Athens Township Trustee Steve Pierson; and Jack Pepper of the Athens City County Health Department, who is president of the Regional Planning Commission.
The Independent left voicemails for Pierson and Pepper, as well as Athens Township trustees Ted Linscott and Brian Baker and Dover Township trustees. None returned the Independent’s call in time for publication.
The Independent contacted a representative for Saadia Holding LLC and was told to direct questions to their email. The Independent sent a list of questions and didn’t receive answers in time for publication.
