Coweta County approves massive 'Project Sail' data center
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Coweta County officials narrowly approved a massive data center campus Tuesday night despite intense pushback from local residents over the future of their rural community.
New industrial hub for Coweta
What we know:
The Coweta County Board of Commissioners, in a 3-2 vote, approved the rezoning of 829 acres off Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road from Rural Conservation to Industrial.
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
Known as "Project Sail," the development by Atlas Development, LLC, will include nine buildings.
Proponents argue the facility is a responsible way to grow the tax base to fund a new high school, noting its location near Georgia Power’s Plant Yates.
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
What we don't know:
While the zoning is approved, officials have not yet confirmed specific construction start dates or which tech companies might eventually occupy the nine planned buildings.
Massive footprint near Wahoo Creek
By the numbers:
The scale of Project Sail is immense. At 4.34 million square feet, it is nearly double the size of the Mall of Georgia and sits on more land than the Georgia World Congress Center. The site will require 900 megawatts of power, which is nearly the total output of a modern nuclear reactor.
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
The backstory:
Coweta County recently emerged from a moratorium on data centers that lasted from May to December 2025. This project was reviewed under a newly adopted data center ordinance. Although the county's 2021 Comprehensive Plan labeled this area for "Rural Places," planners noted that the plan did not account for the data center boom when it was written.
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
Neighbors fight 'irreparable harm'
What they're saying:
The project faced a wall of opposition. A law firm representing local citizens argued the approval would cause "irreparable harm" to their way of life and could violate constitutional due process. Residents also raised alarms about environmental impacts on Wahoo Creek and the need for more water permits from the Chattahoochee River.
"Project Sail" has become a flashpoint for debate, with some neighbors at a March 17 meeting calling it a necessary tax break for homeowners, while others see it as an erosion of their community.
Renderings of the proposed "Project Sail" near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road in Coweta County. (Coweta County Board of Commissioners)
Roundabouts and restoration plans
What's next:
The approval comes with 17 strict conditions. The developer must fund and build full-sized roundabouts at State Route 16’s intersections with Wagers Mill Road and Henry Bryant Road.
The site must also maintain 300-foot buffers and protect a private cemetery on the property. If the facility stops operating for 12 straight months, a decommissioning plan requires the land to be returned to its natural state.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Coweta County Board of Commissioners meeting records, county planning documents, and public testimony from the March 17 and April 7 meetings.