By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County’s flat landscape, infrequent natural disasters, access to electric and water, and the potential for large gas lines have placed it high in the rankings among potential sites for data center operations.
Last year, plans for a $750 million data center north of Bowling Green were announced. That project is moving forward, but the company has not been named and is still being referred to with the code name “Project Accordion.”
Since then, the Wood County Economic Development Commission has received multiple inquiries from other data center projects, according to Wade Gottschalk, executive director of the WCEDC.
Wood County has the qualities that data centers want as they invest millions in new locations.
“We obviously have some of the best sites in the entire region,” Gottschalk reported to the Wood County Commissioners last week.
Project Accordion will be located in Middleton Township, north of Bowling Green, on Ohio 582 between Ohio 25 and Interstate 75. The plans call for a total investment of $240 million for the purchase of about 750 acres and $510 million for the buildings, machinery and equipment.
Once completed, the Middleton Township site is expected to employ about 50 people, earning an average of $80,000 a year.
The site is equipped with features needed for a data center, starting with the availability of large acreage, Gottschalk said. Through the Northwestern Water and Sewer District, it has access to water, which is vital for the cooling of servers. The acreage is close to a source of electricity, with the First Energy substation nearby on Mercer Road. And fiber-optic lines traverse the area, which could carry large amounts of information to and from the data center.
Data centers have evolved in recent years from facilities housing traditional IT infrastructure for the exclusive use of one company, to facilities owned by cloud service providers for the shared use of multiple companies and customers.
Unlike many industrial sites, the data center is expected to generate minimal truck traffic and have little impact to the area. The footprint for the project includes acreage on the north and south sides of Route 582, between the Northwestern Water and Sewer District and Mercer Road.
Major road improvements for the project are planned, including a possible roundabout on Route 582, Gottschalk said.
While road improvements for Project Accordion will be great, once construction of the data center is complete, traffic is expected to decrease, Gottschalk said.
Also during his report to the county commissioners, Gottschalk said his office continues to be very busy fielding calls from prospective developers.
“Project leads are rolling in from various sources,” he said.
“Last year was great. And there’s no slow down in sight.”
During retention visits at existing businesses in the county, Gottschalk is also hearing good news.
“People are still hiring. No one is laying off. Companies are still investing,” he said.
Wood County’s unemployment rate continues to be low, sitting at 3.6% in April. But unlike the period right after the Covid pandemic, businesses are no longer having difficulty filling open positions.
“Employers are doing better finding employees,” Gottschalk said.
