Skybox Data Centers may not buy that 350 acres northeast of town for $17.4 million after all. City Council has a possible lease of the land to San Angelo Data Center Campus Power LLC on its closed agenda for their March 17 meeting.
One year ago this same City Council approved a letter of intent to sell the land to Skybox Data Centers for $50,000 per acre. This has not happened.
Data center financing has become more problematic given the obscene sums of money required. BlueOwl, a funder of other Skybox projects, has had a difficult run this year. That means less capital for projects. Asking the city to avoid the $17.4 million land sale and provide a reasonable lease amount could save big money on the project. It also takes away a financial plum for pursuing the project.
Mayor Tom Thompson has said that people need to wait for the 380 (economic development) agreement, which many assumed would be after or in conjunction with the land sale.
The big money behind these projects, solar/battery, data centers, often want to get out within 5-7 years with a handsome profit. If the city keeps and leases the land, in ten years it may have a giant eyesore for which it is responsible. Time will tell, unless there is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). An NDA could keep all but a few people in the dark forever.
Update: Chamber Executive Michael Looney spoke at the Development Corporation and shared that the 380 economic development agreement with Skybox needs a lot more work and that the state needs to respond to the project's power request/proposal. Apparently, things are on track and a property lease enables progress to be made while those two fronts, the 380 and state power approval via ERCOT and AEP.
Skybox is the owner of the project and Emergent Data Centers is the developer. Members of the Emergent Team were interviewed by the Mayor at the Economic Development Summit put on by the Chamber.
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