The proposed data center at Rome’s Battey Business Complex will not move forward after Atlas Development ended its agreement with the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority. RFCDA Board Chair Jimmy Byars confirmed the project is no longer active. The authority had reached a preliminary $5.7 million agreement with Atlas for approximately 100 acres of undeveloped property at the Division Street site.
Atlas has been connected to other proposed data center locations in the area, including sites in Coosa and Shannon. Neither the development authority nor Atlas has publicly explained why the Battey agreement was terminated.
The property will eventually return to the control of the RFCDA once the necessary legal steps are completed, according to Rome Mayor Jim Bojo.
Bojo said the end of the deal creates an opportunity for city and county officials to reconsider what would be the best use for the large tract. Rather than committing the property to one particular industry, he said officials could consider a variety of possibilities, including residential, commercial and industrial development.
Opposition to the proposed data center had been growing among nearby residents. People from across Rome and Floyd County had spoken out against the project during local government meetings.
The issue was especially contentious in Summerville Park, located near the Battey property. Residents attended an October 2025 town hall hosted by Rome City Commissioner Bill Collins to discuss their concerns. A petition opposing the data center was also circulated online and had received more than 2,200 signatures.
The future of the property is also tied to an extensive cleanup effort already underway. The RFCDA has secured more than $7 million through federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development to address asbestos and lead issues at the former hospital campus.
Those environmental problems stem in part from the age of the buildings. Many structures were constructed during World War II, when construction and safety standards were considerably different from those used today.
Much of the cleanup work has already been completed, and the authority had been preparing to select a contractor to tear down most of the remaining buildings.
Under the now-ended agreement with Atlas, demolition and asbestos removal were anticipated as part of the property’s redevelopment. The agreement also included a $150,000 payment to the development authority.
The Battey property sits on the former Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital campus along North Division Street.
With the data center proposal no longer moving ahead, the roughly 100-acre property is once again open to consideration for other forms of development. Local officials now face the task of deciding what direction makes the most sense for the site and the surrounding community.
