SWFL.io - Local NewsHunter Walterman
•8/25/2026
ARCADIA, Fla. (WINK)—Security ushered a select group of people through the gates of the Turner Center on Monday as the 'Godfather' of data centers addressed people hungry for information about a controversial project that could reshape the future of DeSoto County.
Buddy Rizer is the economic development director for Loudon County, Virginia. The suburban Washington, D.C. community is reportedly home to more than 250 data centers. The county said that is the highest concentration in the world.
Rizer spoke at an event organized by the DeSoto County Industrial Park Group, which wants to build an artificial intelligence data center east of Arcadia. WINK Investigates reports that local officials fast-tracked the project, which could grow to more than 1,000 acres. An advisor for the company posted online that it is on track to become "one of the largest data centers on Earth."
The project has faced fierce public opposition from neighbors who worry the project could threaten DeSoto County's water supply, air quality, and small town town charm.
DCIP is trying to win over some of its most vocal opponents, inviting several to Monday's meeting.
Rizer gave a presentation before answering questions filtered through Okeechobee County Commissioner Terry Burroughs, who chairs the Florida Heartland Economic Rural Opportunity group.
Rizer compared data centers to other technological innovations that faced pushback, including telephone polls and cell towers. He said Loudon County introduced data centers after the Great Recession led to layoffs.
81% of the county's tax revenue came from residential units, Rizer said, leaving it vulnerable to the housing bubble. Data centers flipped the script. Now, commercial real estate accounts for 51% of the county's tax revenue, Rizer said.
Loudon County cut property taxes while building new schools, libraries, and fire stations, Rizer said.
"It's been an incredible opportunity for us to build a better community," Rizer said.
He minimized concerns about data center's impact on the environment and utility bills. Many new facilities use a closed-loop cooling system that reduce the amount of water required, Rizer said.
DCIP Group could not provide an exact amount of water the data center would use each day. When asked if the facility would be attached to the city's water supply, the CEO previously outlined a priority system for water sourcing.
"That's our last priority for water is groundwater," said Jon Brown, CEO of DCIP. "We were going to go reclaim water from the city, water we collect from the campus, and lastly, as our final backstop, we will be using groundwater."
The plant is working with the City of Arcadia to use reclaimed water from the sewage treatment plant.
Brown told WINK Investigates the facility plans to operate independently of the power grid by using infrastructure from a former 340-megawatt power plant on site.
This summer, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new regulations requiring AI data centers to pay their own utility costs, so customers don't end up paying more. But Brown said staying off the grid has been the plan since before the law took effect.
Some opponents were unmoved by Monday's meeting. Alexandria Reed has spoken against the project multiple times before the county commission. She submitted a list of 56 questions to the company, including whether it completed an independent analysis of reclaimed water use.
"There was a lot that was not answered," Reed said.
Asha Stalnaker, who lives half-a-mile from the proposed data center, also attended the town hall. She thanked Rizer for addressing some of neighbors concerns - but said the meeting didn't change her mind. Stalnaker worries the data center will dry up her well and bombard her family with a constant hum that has plagued other communities.
"It's really concerning," Stalnaker said. "We're a very rural community, and we really want to keep it that way."
County commissioners already approved the first phase of the data center that's about 34-acres. They still have to decide on rezoning applications that could significantly expand the project.