Prologis, a leading industrial real estate firm based in San Francisco, has entered into a contract to acquire approximately 831 acres of land in Coweta County, located about 45 miles southwest of Atlanta. This site is proposed for a massive data center project, dubbed Project Sail, which is projected to cost around $17 billion. The announcement was made public on New Year’s Eve of last year, highlighting the importance of the proposal in the rapidly growing Atlanta data center market.
Prologis’ senior vice president of data center investments, JC Witt, expressed optimism about the Atlanta market’s ascent, stating, “Atlanta has always been a good market, but in the last couple of years, it’s become a great market.”
Until now, Atlas Development LLC has been the only identified company associated with Project Sail. Established in 2017 and based in Whitesburg, Atlas focuses on land rezoning and entitlement, services essential for advancing large-scale developments.
Recently, Atlas executive Jonathon Ward confirmed that Prologis will be the operator of the data center campus. However, details regarding the financial terms of the acquisition, including the price, remain undisclosed.
While Atlas has four additional data center proposals in Georgia, officials clarified that Prologis is not engaged with those projects.
Georgia is recognized as one of the most generous states for data center incentives, a fact that has raised concerns among local officials about the implications of vast data center developments on surrounding communities. Resident Williams voiced concerns regarding potential tax revenue motivations among decision-makers, stating, “I’m afraid they’re looking at just the possible tax revenue they’ll get. They’re not looking at the after-effects and how it’s going to affect the neighbors.”
Presently, Project Sail is subject to a state-mandated infrastructure review prompted by the rezoning request. A spokesperson for Coweta County indicated that if this Development of Regional Impact review concludes prior to the lifting of a current moratorium, the development team might seek “vested development rights.” This request could argue that the rezoning application was submitted before the moratorium took effect, necessitating review by the county’s legal team.
Witt remains confident that the ongoing moratorium will not hinder Project Sail’s progress. He remarked on the rapid evolution of the data center industry, asserting the need for local authorities to adapt their regulations. As Witt noted, “A lot of communities don’t have any sort of codes or regulations around how these are being constructed. They’re doing the right thing by spending the time and research to ensure that these data centers are incorporated into their codes in a prudent manner.”
Prologis is recognized as one of the largest developers and owners of industrial space in Georgia, boasting around 1.3 billion square feet of industrial properties across 20 countries. The company has increasingly focused on expanding its footprint in the burgeoning data center sector.
As part of its growth strategy, Prologis intends to increase its global data center holdings by 10 gigawatts over the next decade. This ambitious plan is equivalent to five times the total space occupied by Georgia’s data center industry projected at the end of 2024, as reported by real estate services firm CBRE.
For Project Sail, the estimated power requirement stands at about 900 megawatts, slightly lower than its initial demand of 936 megawatts. The final design of the site is currently in development, with early proposals suggesting the construction of 13 buildings, encompassing nearly 5 million square feet — over twice the floor area of the Mall of Georgia.
Witt acknowledged, “Nine hundred megawatts is nothing to take lightly. It’s something that we really want to execute on for the community and for the company.”
The site’s proximity to Georgia Power’s Plant Yates played a significant role in attracting both Atlas and Prologis to the location. Kent Mason, Prologis’s market officer in Atlanta, highlighted how the existing infrastructure minimizes environmental impact, stating, “What we like, as a company with a conscience, is that there’s already this massive Georgia Power generating station and the lines are there. The interstate for us to connect to is there already, so it’s less impactful.”
Despite concerns from residents living nearby, who acknowledge the presence of the power plant when buying their homes, there remains an expectation for local officials to uphold zoning laws. Brian Beck, a long-time resident, expressed his concern: “We buy our homes with the assumption that we’re protected by our zoning laws. People build their lives thinking they have that protection.”
Witt explained that as the data center industry has expanded, it has faced increased opposition from local communities. He argued that data centers represent essential infrastructure in today’s society, emphasizing, “I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding of how important they are to the community and how the community uses these data centers every single day for all their jobs and everyday life.”
With data centers growing in prominence and scale, the balance between economic development and community interests is becoming increasingly critical.
image source from：https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/05/a-new-group-steps-in-to-develop-17b-project-sail-data-center-near-atlanta/
