Could data center be coming to Blue Grass Army Depot? Leaders discuss possibility

MADISON COUNTY, Ky (WTVQ)- The Madison County community and U.S. Army are turning their attention to new missions and possibilities for the Blue Grass Army Depot.

This is coming after the last of chemical weapons were destroyed in July. Work is now under way to destroy secondary wastes and close down the processing facility.

During the next three or four years, 1,500 jobs that once were part of the history-making chemical weapons destruction operation at the depot will be phased out. It’s something local leaders have been expecting for a couple of years.

“The loss of any job is going to be a tough loss on the economy, particularly these jobs that are high paying jobs, stable jobs,” says David Stipes, the industrial development director for the City of Richmond.

Stipes says now the goal is to help bring industries to retain those jobs and help the local economy.

“We’ve been looking holistically at that and we developed an economic resiliency plan for the community. We brought in several leaders here in the community to put our heads together. We’ve also been working in concert with some of the industries here to find out what they’re employment needs may be now and in the future,” says Stipes.

One idea picked up community support is a new state-of-the-art data center, which would sit on as much as 170 of the depot’s 15,000 acres.  Leaders say the idea could take the county into the next generation of high-tech jobs.

“We have an opportunity here in central Kentucky to put one of these facilities inside a secure area, the Blue Grass Army Depot and provide that service to the military as well as commercial customers if they so choose,” says Craig Williams, the chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Chemical Weapons Demilitarization.

Williams says he’s met with a number of people, including local, state and federal leaders, about the possibility. He says a data center project would lead to 400-5oo jobs during construction.

When up a running, the center could have anywhere from 50-75 jobs and a project investment of $500 million to nearly a billion dollars overall. If approved, the data center could be up and running by 2026.

“The advantage the we have currently is that Bechtel International and Bechtel Enterprise, two major international contracting corporations, have already done the design work for this facility. They have all the information necessary to move forward with the project very quickly. That is an opportunity that should not be passed up in many people’s opinions, including my own,” says Williams.

Williams says the final decision to put a data center at the site wouldn’t be made at the local level. He says the decision would be up to the Pentagon.

The groups that have been the voice for the community on chemical weapons destruction are now talking about the future. They are sending letters congressman Andy Barr, and senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul urging them to help make the data center and the jobs happen.

Stipes says whatever is next he hopes it attracts even more jobs for the community.

“For example if there’s engineers or biologists or geologists or technical trade folks that are going to be losing their jobs, we are hoping to find homes for them in the community and if we don’t have the jobs now, maybe we can attract new industries that are looking for employees that already have that skill set already here.” says Stipes.

Local leaders hope a decision can be made next year. The data center would be privately funded and provide revenue for the army depot.