Facts at a glance
- Record ID
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga- Record type
- project
- Developer
- John B. Williams
- Operator
- Not named in the cited records
- Owner
- Multiple ownership, including developer & others: JBW Investments, LLC; JF Land Investments, LLC; Tide Investments, LLC; FW Johansen Investments, LLC; James Moss, LLC; and John B. Williams & Alyce Toonk.
- Tenant
- Not named in the cited records
- Capacity
- Unknown No independently supported figure
- Location
- Newton County, GA
unknown — The initial DRI form says the site is currently in unincorporated Newton County and would enter Covington city limits only with annexation. Newton County objected to that annexation on 6 May 2025. No annexation ordinance for this site appears in the 31 City of Covington council-minute sets published from 7 April 2025 through 6 July 2026. City is therefore null.
What the sources support
The opened records place the site in unincorporated Newton County. The applicant-written Initial DRI Information Form for DRI 4428 describes a proposed 'Data Center Campus occupying multiple buildings'; that applicant description is attributed and does not independently establish the canonical campus unit. The filing requested rezoning plus annexation into Covington. On 6 May 2025 the Newton County Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution R050625 objecting to that annexation. DRI process completion is not local approval, construction or operation.
Definitions: record units · roles · capacity boundaries · lifecycle stages.
What remains unknown
- whether the annexation was later completed, withdrawn, or resolved after the county objection
- critical IT capacity
- utility service capacity
- estimated peak connected electrical load (the state form field was filed blank)
- operator
- tenant or end user (the county record states the end user is not yet known)
- street address
- parcel identifiers
- the complete list of owners of all 18 tracts
- current construction status on the ground
- whether rezoning was granted by any jurisdiction
- City of Covington council minutes after 6 July 2026
- how the residential and data-centre components were ultimately split
Sources
-
Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) →Gov. record
Exact location View Submissions table; 3,176 data rows, DRI IDs 1-4843, initial-form dates 2001-07-09 to 2026-09-15; columns DRI ID / Project / Development Type / County / City / RDC / Initial Info Form Submitted / Current Status
What it supports Statewide primary index of Developments of Regional Impact. 18 rows carry development type 'Technological Facility (Including Data Centers)'; a further 20 rows with data-centre project names sit under 'Industrial' or 'Any other development types'. Each row links to an AppSummary and to the local government's Initial DRI Information Form.
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Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) →Gov. record
Exact location Initial DRI Information Form, DRI #4428: Submitting Local Government 'Covington'; Project 'Gregory Road Data Center'; Description 'Data Center Campus occupying multiple buildings up to 1,410,000 square feet on approximately ±213.0 acres (with ± 307.50 acres of residential with approximately 27 lots for a total of ±520 acres)'; Developer 'John B. Williams'; Development Type field 'Industrial (Data Warehouse) & residential'; additional jurisdiction note 'Currently in Newton County unincorporated.'
What it supports Local-government-filed Initial DRI Information Form naming the project, its host jurisdiction, size and applicant/developer.
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Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) →Gov. record
Exact location DRI Application Summary, DRI #4428: Current Status 'Completed'; RDC 'Northeast Georgia RDC'; DRI Tier 'Metro'; GRTA Jurisdiction? 'No'; Initial Form 3/27/2025; Additional Form 3/31/2025; DRI Determination 4/11/2025 'Warrants regional review'; Completeness Certification 4/11/2025; Request for Comments 4/16/2025; RDC Finding 5/6/2025
What it supports State process record for this DRI. Establishes the process timeline only; it states no jurisdiction, address, parcel, operator or capacity.
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Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) →Gov. record
Exact location DRI Information Form Part 2, DRI #4428: 'Energy Supply' (peak connected electrical load BLANK, provider BLANK); 'Water Supply' provider 'Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority', demand '±1.08 MGD'; 'Wastewater Disposal' provider 'Undesignated'; 'Land Transportation' '127 peak & approx. 494 trips per day'
What it supports Second half of the same local-government DRI filing. Records that no electrical load figure was supplied, and that the named water provider and the body that must designate a wastewater provider are Newton County bodies.
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Newton County, Georgia, Board of Commissioners →Gov. record
Exact location Regular Meeting minutes, May 6, 2025, item 'BOARD CONSIDERATION OF THE CITY OF COVINGTON ANNEXATION OF PROPERTY ALONG GREGORY ROAD, HICKORY HILL ROAD, CORNISH MOUNTAIN ROAD, AND FLAT ROCK ROAD. (APPROXIMATELY 520.50 ACRES)'
What it supports The county's own record of the Covington annexation request for this site: 520.5 acres, 18 tracts, ±213 acres to City M-2 for a Data Center Campus, ±307.5 acres to City NR-1 residential, and the express statement 'End user not yet known'. Motion carried 3/1/1.
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Newton County, Georgia, Board of Commissioners →Gov. record
Exact location Resolution R050625, 'A RESOLUTION ... OBJECTING TO THE ANNEXATION OF PROPERTY BY THE CITY OF COVINGTON, GEORGIA', resolving clause and adoption date
What it supports The operative instrument. The county objects to the annexation application under O.C.G.A. § 36-36-113 and directs notice to the City and to DCA. Establishes that the annexation was contested, not completed.
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City of Covington, Georgia →Gov. record
Exact location Regular Council Meeting minutes, January 20, 2026, items 2, 5 and 6
What it supports City ratifies a limited moratorium until July 4, 2026 on acceptance of applications for Data Center Development, and denies two annexation applications, PAR25.0003 Falcon Wood and PAR25.0004 Alcovy Rise. Neither denied application is identified in the minutes as this site.
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City of Covington, Georgia →Gov. record
Exact location Regular Council Meeting minutes, July 6, 2026, item 3
What it supports The data-center application moratorium is extended until October 20, 2026. This is the most recent set of council minutes the city had published as at 2026-09-18.
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City of Covington, Georgia →Gov. record
Exact location Council Meetings index; 45 minutes PDFs linked, 2024-08-05 through 2026-07-06
What it supports Negative evidence of record. All 31 sets of minutes covering 2025-04-07 through 2026-07-06 were retrieved and text-searched; Gregory Road does not appear in any of them, and no annexation ordinance for this site appears.
Record history
Record history · 27 March 2025 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why Initial DRI information was filed for the Gregory Road Data Center, requesting rezoning and annexation.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Record history · 31 March 2025 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why The DRI application summary records that the additional DRI form was submitted. The Part 2 form itself bears no date.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Record history · 11 April 2025 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why The state DRI determination recorded that the filing warrants regional review.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Record history · 6 May 2025 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why Newton County adopted Resolution R050625 objecting to the Covington annexation application under O.C.G.A. § 36-36-113.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Record history · 20 January 2026 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why The City of Covington ratified a limited moratorium on accepting data-center development applications.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Record history · 6 July 2026 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Record
Why The City of Covington extended that moratorium to 20 October 2026.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
DataCenterData record added · 18 September 2026 · DataCenterData review
gregory-road-data-center-newton-county-ga → Publication
Why Added from the opened Georgia DRI filing and Newton County objection. Covington is not assigned as the host city.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
Data + actions
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