Conway City Council OKs MOU to pursue large data‑center campus; 65% property‑tax abatement included in draft

Conway City Council voted unanimously, 8-0, to enter a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a prospective data‑center developer and two local partners that would commit the city to negotiate project-specific agreements including a proposed 65% property‑tax abatement for 30 years.

The MOU would bind the city, Conway Corporation and the Conway Foundation to continue negotiations with the company, which chamber and economic‑development officials described as a U.S.‑based Fortune‑100 firm. City officials said the MOU is a nonbinding, early step that clears the way for later ordinances, a utility rate study and an industrial revenue bond to effect any formal tax abatement.

“This has been a very, very, long project that we've worked on, and so this is a big step forward for the community,” Brad Lacey, a chamber/CDC representative, told the council during a presentation explaining the MOU and next steps.

Why it matters: presenters and staff said the project could be far larger than typical local developments. The MOU describes an initial 300,000‑square‑foot building and ancillary infrastructure with an anticipated first‑phase investment of about $1 billion and roughly 50 full‑time jobs in that phase. The MOU also lists potential aggregate investment ceilings over the life of the agreement of up to $10 billion in real property and $50 billion in personal property — figures city economic‑development staff characterized as “approximately” those amounts.

Key terms and local impacts - Property tax abatement: The draft MOU contemplates a 65% abatement for 30 years. Officials explained that, under Arkansas practice, property‑tax abatements of this type are implemented through industrial revenue bonds (commonly called Act 9 bonds). ‘‘At the end of the 30 years, it then reverts to whatever the cities, county, whatever everybody else pays,’’ a council member noted during the meeting. - Jobs and investment: The developer indicated about 50 permanent jobs for the first phase; officials said later phases could multiply employment as more buildings are added. - Utilities and water: Cooling systems would use treated graywater rather than increased potable water withdrawals; city staff and presenters emphasized potable‑water use would be similar to an office building and that cooling water arrangements would be established through a third‑party rate study and later ordinance. ‘‘They will pay to design that. They will pay to build that,’’ one presenter said of the company’s commitment to graywater infrastructure, noting those costs would not be borne by ratepayers. - Power: Conway Corporation will supply medium‑voltage power and collect standard franchise fees (presenters referenced a 2.5% standard rate for power). The MOU anticipates a joint service arrangement with Entergy Arkansas for high‑voltage service; that arrangement would require a separate ordinance and council approval. - Infrastructure: The MOU contemplates rerouting a short segment of Lolly Road so the campus is not bisected by the public street; the council was told timing and standards for that work will be coordinated with private construction and public‑works schedules.

Process and next steps Presenters and staff stressed the MOU is an early, nonbinding step that allows the parties to continue negotiating and preparing detailed agreements. City staff listed near‑term actions that would return to the council, including a utility rate study for cooling water, design and costing of the graywater system, and ordinances to codify franchise and utility rates and to authorize any industrial revenue bond financing.

Brett Carroll, a Conway Corporation representative, told the council graywater cooling of this type has been studied elsewhere but, to his knowledge, has not yet been implemented successfully in Arkansas. ‘‘To my knowledge, it's not been done in our state before,’’ Carroll said.

Vote and council action The council took a single motion to enter the MOU; the motion and second were recorded but not named in the public transcript. The council voted in favor of entering the MOU, and the clerk announced the motion "passes 8‑0." City staff and presenters said further approvals and ordinances would be required before financial incentives or bond financings take effect.

Public comment and eligibility The council opened the item for public comment and received no speakers. Presenters noted the MOU had been reviewed by the city attorney and by Conway Corporation counsel and that confidentiality provisions and nondisclosure agreements limit what details can be publicly disclosed at this stage.

The council’s action documents a direction to continue negotiations and move forward with the studies and ordinance drafts needed to implement the project if the parties agree on final terms.