DartPoints, a regional provider of colocation, cloud and interconnection solutions, has acquired a 29.5-acre data center campus at 745 W. New Circle Rd. for $29 million.
The sale was brokered by Lexington-based Haymaker Company and closed roughly six and a half months after the property was brought to market.
The company says it plans to transform the property into a next-generation data center campus designed to support AI, hyperscale, neo-cloud and enterprise computing demand. Current plans call for an initial capacity of approximately 20 to 30 megawatts, with long-term expansion potential reaching 70 megawatts.
At a June 9 meeting, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted to institute a moratorium on approvals and zone changes for data centers in the county through October 31 in order to more fully consider the issues and regulations at hand.
Mayor Linda Gorton issued a statement in support of the moratorium, saying: “We need to think very carefully about data centers. They do not produce many jobs and have the potential to increase utility costs for local residents, among other concerns. I support very tight controls.”
The mayor has also declined to support public incentives for the data center proposed for the property. “We have informed them that we will not support public incentives for this project,” she said.
The transaction represents one of the larger commercial real estate sales in Lexington in recent years and reflects growing demand nationwide for data centers and digital infrastructure facilities driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The future campus is expected to support high-density computing environments with up to 200 kilowatts per rack, along with infrastructure for both traditional air-cooled systems and direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology.
“Lexington gives us a rare combination of existing infrastructure, a supportive power environment and the ability to scale in a meaningful way,” said Scott Willis, president and CEO of DartPoints. “As AI, neo-cloud and hyperscale demand continue to reshape the market, customers need sites that can support larger power footprints, denser deployments and long-term growth.”
DartPoints said Lexington’s location between major connectivity markets including Chicago, Atlanta, and Ashburn, Virginia, also factored into the acquisition.
Haymaker Company’s Andy Haymaker, Mike Wilder and Jack Hamilton represented the seller in the transaction.
As Lexington weighs the future of data center development, the Urban County Council has launched an online forum and information hub to gather public feedback on the issue.
The online hub will provide updates on the Council's review process, draft ordinance language and information about future public meetings. Feedback submitted through the platform will be shared with council members as they consider how data centers fit into Lexington's long-term economic development and land-use plans.
Learn more at Engage.LexingtonKY.Gov/DataCenters.