John Urquhart had grandchildren in mind when he bought 230 acres in a small neighborhood in rural Alabama.
Urquhart still works, but his wife, Gina, retired from the nearby veterans’ hospital in Montgomery. They built a barndominium, stocked ponds with bass and bream, marked out a field for dove hunting and left space next door for their daughter to construct her own house. Driving along his property line as a neighbor baled hay, Urquhart mused about teaching his grandsons to plant grain or raise calves.
“This property was going to be my legacy to them,” he said, “and now there’s this monstrosity that could be going up a hundred yards away.”
He’s talking about plans for a massive data center next door to the 54-home neighborhood where he lives in Lowndes County. The $1.5 billion project has grown to 1,050 acres, or about 750 football fields…