On July 31, Barnesville Buzz broke a story about the $270 million real estate deal in which Amazon Data Services, Inc. purchased 984.89 acres of land in Lamar County.
The immediate question many were asking was: what could they build? There has been some confusion about whether property restrictions would prevent the construction of a large facility, such as a data center.
Restrictions do exist, specifically that “no building or combination of buildings shall be constructed on the property that cumulatively exceed 125,000 square feet.” For a comparison that locals will understand, that’s roughly double the size of the building that houses Barnesville’s Rose’s store, Farmer’s Home Furniture, and Ace Hardware. That is plenty of space for a wide range of commercial developments.
Here’s the scoop, however. The restrictive covenant set on said purchase in no way prevents the construction of a potential data center or other similar facility.
The property is actually split into two distinct zoning designations. A small portion, about 35 acres along High Falls Park Road, is zoned Commercial and is subject to a covenant limiting the total building footprint there to 125,000 square feet. In contrast, the remaining 950 or so acres belonging to Amazon are zoned Industrial, with allowances for up to 19 million square feet of structures, or 40% of the total industrial area. That is almost precisely the size of 330 football fields. This industrial zoning easily fits the scale of development required for a major data center.
Whether the development is going to be a data center or another large-scale project, the site’s size and location along I-75 make it one of the most significant tracts of industrial land in Middle Georgia.
For reference, the official restrictive covenant documents can be viewed below.
If you would like to read the original news-breaking article about the historic sale, please click here.
Grant Turner is the editor of the Barnesville Buzz and an educator, coach, and writer based in Barnesville, Georgia. He shares stories that bridge community, faith, and personal growth. In addition to teaching and coaching, Grant is Director of Musical Worship and a Sunday School teacher at New Hope Baptist Church in Zebulon, Georgia. He lives in Barnesville with his wife, Haley.
