Dearest Gentle Reader,
Your faithful correspondent now takes up quill to address a matter of considerable local intrigue, one which has set hearts a-flutter and tempers ablaze.
We speak of rumors of a data center rising up on the former McGinness Airport site. Could Columbia Borough's 41 remediated acres become a shining digital temple, complete with all its attendant promises, problems, and prevarications?
The property has attracted a single suitor, a New York company which has tendered an offer of $6.35 million. Its intentions for the property have not been formally announced, although the council president said the company specializes in "warehousing and data centers."
Several months ago, Columbia Borough Council amended its zoning ordinance for the Light Business District to allow data centers as a use-by-right, yet councilors' intentions remain "under wraps."
It is worth noting, if only in passing, that the Borough's zoning also allows warehousing (with special exception) at the site, a considerably less lucrative prospect. But it is the data center that commands our attention and ignites the imagination.
The municipal treasury, ever in need of replenishing, could expect substantial real estate tax revenue, in addition to any profits realized from the sale. One's eyebrows, it must be said, do rise at such figures.
The infrastructure question, though, is where our story grows decidedly less romantic. These digital palaces demand power on a truly prodigious scale, with an uninterrupted electrical supply, dedicated substations, and redundant fiber connectivity of the sort that the grounds currently do not have.
What Borough officials might not reveal is the unglamorous reality of an automated, fence-encircled fortress humming loudly through the night behind locked gates. There is a considerable distance, Gentle Reader, between welcoming a data center in principle and embracing one as a neighbor in practice.
The Council is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the bid at its May 26th meeting at Columbia Borough's Fire Hall. However, any plans for the use of the property still might not be revealed there.
Legitimate concerns are anticipated from residents at the meeting: plummeting property values, rate hikes for utilities, the ceaseless roar of industrial cooling apparatus, higher surrounding air temperatures, and occasional pungent emissions and noise of diesel generators. In short, one imagines the public comment period will teem with passionate orators. And your dedicated reporter shall be watching from afar and will post her report.
Until next time, your ever-watchful correspondent remains, as always, devoted to illuminating the affairs of our beloved community in its 300th year.
Your Most Humble and Observant Chronicler,
Lady Whistletown
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