By John Dobberstein, Editor
COWETA — The developer behind the proposed data center in Coweta announced Monday that it was pulling out of the project, ending several months of intense debate over one of the biggest potential economic development overtures in Wagoner County history.
The San Francisco-based company said in a statement provided to the Sentinel Beale was, “committed to being a community-first developer, employing best-in-class practices for digital infrastructure development, and delivering significant economic and community investments through our project.
“While we have made the decision to withdraw our data center project in Coweta, known locally as Project Atlas, we look forward to continuing to build meaningful community investments in other locations in Oklahoma.”
Beale did not provide any further explanation for the decision. The Sentinel has reached out to the city of Coweta for comment.
Beale Infrastructure began exploring the data center project in 2024, when another company began making inquiries about property, utility capacity and other issues.
Some city officials signed non-disclosure agreements to further discussions, which kept the project a secret until last fall when about 200 acres of land was annexed to the city and rumors started about a data center.
The project was to be located between Highway 72 and Highway 51B, south of E. 161st Street South in southern Coweta and less than a mile from the Arkansas River. PSO, Rural Water District No. 4 in Wagoner County and the city of Coweta were expected to handle utilities for the development.
Beale planned to contribute about $195 million over 25 years to the Coweta community, including $500,000 towards a water system master plan and $3 million for water infrastructure upgrades, along with $1 million for local parks.
Over 25 years, the estimated power was to generate $50 million in franchise fees for the city, or $1 million to $2 million per year, Beale officials said. Coweta Public Schools would receive about $17 million over that same period.
But the development ran into trouble almost immediately, after residents expressed concerns about the data center’s potential high demand for water and electricity. Many residents also feared their utility bills would go up.
After an emotional public hearing several weeks ago, the Coweta Planning Commission denied a rezoning request for the project. After months of negotiations between the city and Beale, a final development agreement never surfaced publicly.
The Coweta project was one of several data centers proposed in the Tulsa metro area in the last year, including locations in or near Sand Springs, Owasso, Claremore and Muskogee, with Beale serving as the developer behind the Claremore and Owasso projects.
The city of Tulsa recently approved a brief moratorium on data center construction, and the Sand Springs project, originally approved by the city, has run into potential legal issues and strong local opposition.
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