The Koman Group is working with officials in Boone County, Missouri to develop a 192-acre tract as a data center, according to local media reports. Koman was one of the developers of a huge speculative project in Illinois that was later leased by Microsoft and will soon become one of the world's largest data centers.
Koman is working with property owner Grindstone Investments, the city of Columbia and regional development agencies to gain necessary approvals to rezone the land for use as a data center. “One of the targeted industries for Columbia, Boone County and the state is data centers,” Chad Sayre, project engineer with Allstate Consultants, told The Missourian.
The Ewing Industrial Park is a "high-electricity area" with a 500,000 gallon water tower and existing fiber optic lines, local officials said. The site's proximity to a landfill is another reason why the location might be more appropriate for a low-employment site such as a data center, they added. The Columbia Planning Department will consider the rezoning requests in March. Koman and Grindstone have indicated an interest in building a 150,000 square foot data center at the site.
The Koman Group has developed over $900 million in new projects in the St. Louis and the surrounding area over the past 15 years.
