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Data Center Watch Report · ZIP 29306

Spartanburg

Spartanburg

Under constructionZIP 50.2% Blackpop 17,270

Under construction — NorthMark/Valara data center at the former Kohler plant, 4000 S. Pine St. First stage targeted for Q3 2026; active lawsuit and neighborhood

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (1 resident report, 2026-05-26) · ZIP demographics: 50.2% Black, pop 17,270 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Spartanburg (~20% Black) Status: Under construction — NorthMark/Valara data center at the former Kohler plant, 4000 S. Pine St. First stage targeted for Q3 2026; active lawsuit and neighborhood opposition.

This report is research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice.

0. Snapshot

Unlike most sites in this cluster, ZIP 29306 has a data center that is actually being built. NorthMark Strategies, through its subsidiary Valara Holdings, is constructing a ~$2.8 billion ("nearly $3 billion") high-performance/AI computing campus at 4000 South Pine Street — the former Kohler plumbing plant (closed 2024), southeast of downtown Spartanburg, just outside the city. The project includes a ~450-megawatt on-site gas-fired power plant and about 500,000 sq ft, and it is projected to use ~459,000 gallons of water per day (≈85% lost to evaporation). Spartanburg County approved tax incentives in 2025 and processed the build as a "minor land development," which skipped the planning commission and public-comment step — the core of a Southern Environmental Law Center lawsuit filed July 6, 2026 on behalf of "Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County." When the county passed a one-year data-center moratorium in July 2026, it exempted this already-approved project. ZIP 29306 is Spartanburg's majority-Black south side — and the plant is landing on it.

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

  • Developer: NorthMark Strategies (investment firm), via subsidiary Valara Holdings, LLC ("Project Moc-1").
  • Scale: ~$2.8 billion; ~500,000 sq ft; ~450 MW of on-site natural-gas generation (permits sought for gas turbines).
  • Location: 4000 S. Pine Street, former Kohler plant site, southeast of downtown Spartanburg, just outside city limits — inside/adjacent to ZIP 29306, the majority-Black south side.
  • Status: Under construction, staged; first stage targeted Q3 2026, construction continuing through 2028.
  • Note: a separate, larger proposal — "Project Spero" ($3B, TigerDC) at the Tyger River Industrial Park on Hwy 290 in the southwest of the county — was withdrawn Feb 27, 2026 after public pushback. That site is not in 29306; do not confuse the two.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

  • 2025 — Spartanburg County Council approved a tax-incentive (FILOT) package for the NorthMark/Valara project.
  • Ongoing 2026 — the county processed the next construction phase as a "minor land development," which under county ordinance does not require planning-commission review or a formal public hearing.
  • July 6, 2026 — SELC filed suit (Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County v. county/Valara) arguing the $2.8B project was wrongly classified as "minor" to bypass public review; attorney Frank Holleman (SELC). The county has defended its process.
  • July 2026 — County Council gave first approval to a one-year moratorium on new data centers; it exempts already-approved projects, including the South Pine Street site.
  • Separately, authorities investigated alleged threats against NorthMark employees amid the dispute.
  • Confirm hearing/agenda status with the Clerk to County Council (contacts in §8).

3. Power

The campus plans ~450 MW of on-site gas-fired generation — enough, per reporting, to supply 300,000+ homes — which shifts the fight from "wires" to air permits and on-site combustion. Regionally, Duke Energy is the dominant utility (the upstate is Duke Energy Carolinas territory; the small nearby Lockhart Power buys from Duke). Duke told council members costs "would not be passed on to residents," a claim residents distrust as their own bills rise; South Carolina's Attorney General publicly pressed Duke in July 2026 to legally commit to ratepayer protections on data-center load. Watch the SC Public Service Commission for Duke large-load and rate dockets.

4. Water & Drought

Projected use: ~459,000 gallons/day, ~85% lost to evaporation (i.e., not returned to the system). Serving water utility is the local Spartanburg-area system (confirm with Spartanburg Water). Drought: a moderate drought declaration was in effect for Spartanburg County through July 2026, with ~83% of the state in drought in early July — making a high-evaporation cooling load a live concern. A cooling vendor (Airsys, near Spartanburg) has promoted "zero-water" tech, underscoring that water use is a contested local issue.

5. Population & Who Lives Here

ZIP 29306 is 50.2% Black, population 17,270 — Spartanburg's south side, the Blackest part of a county that is only ~20% Black. That is the classic pattern this project documents: a ~$2.8B gas-fired industrial campus, permitted with minimal public process, landing in the majority-Black ZIP of a majority-white county. Residents near S. Pine Street have reported that construction is already disrupting daily life (noise, traffic, dust).

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

  • Tax incentives: Spartanburg County Council approved a FILOT/tax package in 2025 for the ~$2.8B investment; the company says it will pay more than $10 million/year in local taxes. A state senator called for a pause on the tax deal.
  • Jobs: permanent headcount was not clearly published in coverage (data centers are famously low-employment); Specific permanent job count not found as of 2026-08-02.
  • The exact multi-year FILOT dollar total and assessment ratio were not fully published. Not found as of 2026-08-02.

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

Local outlets: The Post and Courier (Spartanburg), Fox Carolina, WSPA 7News, SC Daily Gazette, GoUpstate/Herald-Journal, and the newsletter Carolina Ecology. Opposition: Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center (lawsuit over the "minor development" classification), plus organized neighbors and advocacy groups scrutinizing water and the gas plant. The dispute has been heated — including a threats investigation — and pushed the county toward its moratorium.

8. Find Out For Yourself

Spartanburg County Council — Administration Building, 366 N. Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303 (PO Box 5666, 29304). Clerk to Council: (864) 596-2528. Main Council meets 5:15 p.m. in Council Chambers (streamed on YouTube). Ask for the NorthMark/Valara (Project Moc-1) FILOT ordinance, the "minor land development" determination, and any air/gas-turbine permit filings. City of Spartanburg — cityofspartanburg.org (the site is just outside city limits; the county is the land-use authority). SC Public Service Commission / Office of Regulatory Staff — psc.sc.gov ; ors.sc.gov (Duke large-load and rate cases). SC DHEC / SC Dept. of Environmental Services — for the on-site gas plant's air permit.

Questions worth asking:

  1. Why was a $2.8B campus classified as a "minor land development" with no planning-commission hearing?
  2. What are the modeled air emissions from the ~450 MW gas plant, and how close are S. Pine Street homes and schools?
  3. Who guarantees Duke's promise that costs won't hit residential ratepayers — in writing?
  4. What is the enforceable water withdrawal limit, and how is 85% evaporative loss acceptable in drought?
  5. How many permanent jobs, and at what wages?
  6. Since the moratorium exempts this site, what public oversight remains for its later phases?

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

This one is real and rising. If you live or would live in 29306, weigh proximity to an operating/under-construction ~450 MW gas-fired data campus: air quality and noise near S. Pine Street, whether Duke rate pressure reaches your bill, water reliability during recurring drought, and the fact that the project advanced with little public process and is exempt from the county moratorium. There is an active SELC lawsuit that could still force review. Land-value effects near the site are unsettled. All unresolved as of 2026-08-02.

10. Sources

Lead source: resident reports on the Brockovich AI Data Center community map, then independently verified against public records. Research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice. Some resident-reported pins remain uncorroborated and are labeled as such above.