Developer outlines 128-acre data center plan, says rezoning and Duke power study are next steps

Montro project manager Michael Fes told residents that the parcel under contract is roughly 128 acres and that the initial site plan shows four buildings with a roofline up to 78 feet. "We can revise the plans and put conditions on the rezoning to address your major concerns," he said, adding that the developer has engaged Thomas & Hutton for engineering and Pilot Environmental for waters and wetlands work.

Fes said two regulatory steps must precede construction: a county rezoning approval and a Duke Energy power study, which he said typically takes about six months. He also said the wetland report identified two intermittent streams and required a lower building footprint in one area. The presenter described modern data-center practices such as water recycling ("we're recycling water six times") and stormwater ponds designed to meet NCDEQ post-construction controls. Residents repeatedly pressed for specifics — including how many megawatts would be needed, who would operate the facility, and whether the historic Walls farmhouse on the property would remain — questions the presenters said will be resolved in later engineering studies and the power study.

The meeting ended with commitments from Montro to form a local steering committee and to share revised plans with town and county staff before the application returns to the county planning board for a hearing. The planning-board review and county-commission decision were repeatedly identified by officials and residents as the formal venues where testimony and votes will matter.