Do recent land transactions point to $1 billion Project Cobra deal in York County?
A large data center company has bought more than $10 million worth of York County property. All in an area primed for new development.
York County land records show QTS York I LLC bought three properties in Lake Wylie on July 10 for almost $7 million. The properties combine for more than 230 acres. The largest of the three parcels is 220 acres at 2107 Hands Mill Highway, west of and with frontage on Hands Mill. The property is north of Paraham Road.
Also, York County sold property to QTS York II LLC on July 11. That land is connected to the 220 acres at 2107 Hands Mill. The 130-acre property at 5805 Campbell Road is west of Allison Creek Presbyterian Church. It sold for more than $4.3 million.
The Overland Park, Kansas address for both sites — 360 acres — matches the corporate headquarters for QTS Data Centers. According to the company website, QTS has more than 9 million square feet of mega scale data center space in North America and Europe.
Project Cobra
York County has a potential $1 billion economic development deal, known as Project Cobra, on its table.
The county hasn’t identified the incoming company by name. Often before final county incentive approvals, contracts can dictate that the company won’t be named.
Last fall, the county had an offer to sell the 2157 Hands Mill Highway property to a then unnamed buyer in a deal listed as Project Cobra. The deal, county records show, was part of an economic development project.
Project Cobra didn’t appear in county documents again until this summer when the county began the approval process for a tax incentive agreement. Those June documents list Project Cobra as a data center coming from an out-of-state company. They don’t list the location for the project.
York County Council has approved two of three votes needed for the incentive deal negotiated with the unnamed company. A public hearing and one final reading are needed. Council’s next scheduled meeting, barring any special called one ahead of time, comes Aug. 21.
The most recent public documents on the project show an anticipated investment of $1 billion and a dozen new jobs. The company would be required to invest $900 million within eight years for the agreed upon tax incentives.
This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 12:06 PM.
