The Smith family farm is shown in red and blue. Parcels highlighted in red are the only parcels covered by the special exception request.
Over a year ago, data center developer and operator Raeden began research on a Pittsboro property located North of I-74. The land, which is currently owned by a family farm, totals just over 600 acres - an aspect that is appealing to the data center developers.
“Known as a ‘campus,’ the size of the site allows for thoughtful and considerate master planning capable of reducing traffic on certain adjacent roadways and developing buildings in an ordered process, all behind natural visual barriers to anyone outside of the property,” Raeden Co-founder and President, Jason Green told The Republican.
Aside from the size, the Pittsboro lot caught the company’s attention due to the infrastructure. Green noted how the preexisting power infrastructure creates a unique opportunity for Raeden.
While the company doesn’t yet have a green light to get things started, building a data center is the intention.
As it sits, the site is already zoned for such a development. Though few things need to take place before any ground work begins, including approval from the Board of Zoning Approvals (BZA).
“Raeden’s currently supporting the Board of Zoning Approvals (BZA) process to confirm use of a small portion of the site to host an onsite natural gas power generation service,” Green explained.
According to Raeden, while a great amount of the site is intended to use power from the utility, the region itself offers a large amount of natural gas, which could allow the company to give the utility some flexibility by self generating some of the power for the site.
“The BZA will rule on the confirmation solely involving the proposed power plant,” Green said.
Pittsboro BZA will be holding a public hearing on Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. at the Pittsboro Administration building.
Aside from approval the Co-founder/President shared that Raeden is also working alongside a number of community organizations to create a Community Benefits Agreement, which would detail potential contributions to the town. This prospectively includes things like a new fire station, water tower, improved roadway development, and more.
Depending on client conversations and negotiations Green projects construction for the campus to begin in Quarter 1 of next year.
So what does this mean for the community?
“The development generates numerous civil improvements that Raeden understands the Town and surrounding areas would like but either/both lack the funding or impetus to fulfill,” Green shared.
In addition the company predicts that in developing this campus they’ll not only create jobs but will pour into the tax revenue as well.
“Raeden will not accept any local tax incentives,” Green noted.
Project information from BZA application:
• Existing zoning: I-1 Warehouse Industrial
• Original zoning for the Vantage data center was approved in March 2025. Vantage walked away from Pittsboro site in July 2025.
• Total land area: 625 +/- acres. Currently under contract for purchase by Raeden Acquisitions.
• Land area for Special Exception: 264 +/- acres.
• Special Exception request: To construct and operate an onsite natural gas fired electric power generation facility to serve the reliability and phased generation needs of the approved data center campus.
• Estimated costs of $2 million per megawatt (MW) of gross power generation. Initial phase to generate 400 MW of gross power generation.
• Designed to minimize water use through closed-loop or air-cooled systems, so water use is limited to minor domestic and sanitary needs.
• The facility uses no process water and requires no groundwater.
• The facility will use modern natural gas-fi red generation technology and related electrical infrastructure designed for controlled industrial operation.
• Power plant to be fueled by modern natural gas fi red technology.
