An 87-acre Taylor, Texas, property that a family transferred for $10 for park use was later sold by an economic development corporation to a data center developer, drawing local objections and a pending appeal.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A dispute in Taylor, Texas, is drawing attention to the rapid expansion of data centers and the effect those projects can have on rural communities, land use and local infrastructure.
The controversy centers on 87 acres north of Austin that the Bland family originally transferred for $10 in 1999 to a public trust called the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation on the condition that the property be used as a park, according to Tom’s Hardware.
Local resident Pamela Griffin said the Bland family told her decades ago that the land near her home would eventually become a public park. Instead, after multiple transfers, the land was sold in 2025 to data center developer Blueprint for $10 million.
The dispute was highlighted in an X post and comes as Texas and other states see growing conflicts over large technology facilities, energy use, water demand, housing pressure and rural development.
According to Tom’s Hardware, the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation transferred the land four years after receiving it to another nonprofit, the Williamson County Park Foundation. One month later, that nonprofit gave the land to the City of Taylor.
In 2008, Taylor sold the property to the Taylor Economic Development Corporation for $15,000. The corporation held the land for nearly two decades before selling it to Blueprint for $10 million in 2025.
A lawsuit brought by Griffin and four family members against the data center company was dismissed, according to 404 Media. The judge also denied an injunction that would have paused construction while the case continued through appeals. The family has appealed to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin.
The Taylor dispute comes as Texas has become a major center for data center construction. The Texas Tribune reported in April that the state already has more than 300 operating data centers, with more than 100 additional projects in planning or development and 142 under construction.
Because data centers often require large sites, many are being built in or near rural communities.
In Abilene, Texas, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and Crusoe are rapidly building one of the country’s largest artificial intelligence data center campuses. Multiple facilities are already operating or under construction. A recent viral video showed RVs parked for miles as temporary housing for construction workers brought in for the projects.
The city, which has a population of just over 130,000, is facing housing strain tied to the influx of thousands of construction workers for Stargate, Crusoe and other data center builds. The average cost to rent a home in Abilene has increased by about $1,000 per month compared with the same time last year.
Hotels, motels, RV parks and short-term rentals through Airbnb and Vrbo have also become heavily booked and difficult to find. According to Big Country Homepage, some hotels are doubling rates, and some Airbnb listings have seen 100% to 200% price increases during the city’s busiest tourism periods.
Data centers have also become part of a broader national debate. Journalist Tucker Carlson and “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary recently clashed over a proposed 40,000-acre facility in Utah, where O’Leary is a backer. The exchange was highlighted in an X post.
Residents in Utah have demonstrated against the proposed data center. Other communities are also dealing with energy and resource questions tied to the industry. Fortune magazine reported last month that nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents must find a new power source after their existing energy source appeared set to redirect lines to data centers.
In Tennessee, country music star Brad Paisley posted an Instagram video urging fans to sign a petition opposing construction of a 69,000-square-foot data center about 50 yards from the Nashville Zoo.
“First of all, they don’t have the power to build this. They don’t have the water. It doesn’t belong there. It would be an enormous monstrosity, an absolute eyesore, and detract in every way from not only that zoo, but that area,” Paisley said.
The Nashville Zoo has also opposed the project, arguing in a blog post that the facility could affect the local power grid, increase noise and light pollution and reduce water quality in nearby areas.
“Altogether, those factors might have a negative impact on a number of hosted species and breeding programs, including the zoo’s famous clouded leopards, animals ‘notoriously sensitive to any mechanical noise,’” the blog post stated.
Nashville Zoo CEO Rick Schwartz said last week that the zoo has sought to buy the same parcel for years with the goal of turning it into an education and conservation center.
The Taylor case has become one example in a wider debate over how communities handle data center expansion, especially when projects involve land originally intended for public or conservation-related use, rising local housing costs, heavy infrastructure demands and concerns from residents about how development decisions are made.
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