Company looks to take over land owned by widow of NASCAR driver.
A US data center park developer is seeking to build a new campus in North Carolina.
Tract is hoping to develop the Mooresville Technology Park outside Mooresville in Iredell County, some 30 miles north of Charlotte.
In planning since last year, the site is currently zoned RA – Residential Agricultural. Tract’s site plans suggest up to five buildings could be developed on the site.
The 400-acre site, between Patterson Farm Road and Rustic Road, could total 1.5 million sq ft of data center space at full build-out.
The campus could see construction work on the first data centers start in 2028, with initial power delivery set for 2029. The company says more than $30 billion could be invested in the site over the next 20 years.
Duke Energy will be providing power to the site. Tract said the proposed Mooresville Technology Park is an “ideal site for a vital data center” as it is both centrally located in North Carolina and near existing Duke Energy transmission lines capable of serving a high-tech facility.
The land is currently owned by Teresa Earnhardt, widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, via Earnhardt Farms LLC. The project is causing a public family feud within the Earnhardt family, with some speaking out against the project in public meetings.
“My Dad would be livid for his name to be associated in this title!” Dale Earnhardt’s son Kerry wrote on Facebook this week. “Frankly, I’m ashamed our family name is involved in the request to rezone a community that is thriving as a Rural Residential/Agriculture zone to be changed to Industrial.”
After initially recommending to reject the data center last year, the Mooresville Planning Board in April recommended approval of the project. The board of commissioners delayed a vote to approve or deny the rezoning in June. The board is due to discuss the project again next week, ahead of a final vote in September.
The project has been met with opposition from local residents, with nearly 200 residents stood up to protest the rezoning request at previous meetings.
A dedicated website – NoDataCenterMooresvilleNC.com – has been set up to promote resistance. The accompanying Facebook group has 666 members at time of writing.
“We do not want industrial zoning, nor a data center with severe and long-term implications that result in Iredell County, Rowan County, and Cabarrus County residents indefinately [sic] suffering the consequences of the Town of Mooresville's choice,” the website says.
Colorado-based Tract was founded by former Cologix CEO Grant van Rooyen and describes itself as a company that acquires, zones, entitles, and develops ‘master-planned’ data center parks. The company aims to get sites zoned, powered, and shovel-ready for other companies to develop data centers on.
After launching in Nevada, Tract has plans for large-scale campuses across Texas, Virginia (x2), Arizona, Minnesota (x2), and Utah. On its website, the company also lists planned developments in Iowa and Illinois,.
Tract’s parent, Tract Capital, recently launched a dedicated data center developer, known as Fleet DC.
NASCAR driver Ralph Dale Earnhardt raced from 1975 to 2001, winning multiple Series Cup Championships and other accolades. He died in 2001 in a crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
