Location
This site is located near Glade Street and Bethania-Rural Hall Road, directly across from Rural Hall's Town Hall on land that has previously been farmland.
Map: 8084 Glade St area - across the street from Rural Hall Town Hall
The proposal would rezone this area for light industrial use, even though the Rural Hall Area Plan envisions mixed-use development here rather than a large industrial campus.
Site plan: Developer layout on the proposed site (as shown in county filings).
Area map: Blue indicates town of Rural Hall; orange indicates the proposed project site.
Project details
- Project parties
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Developer: The company behind the proposed project and rezoning request.Drox Group LLC
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Project Manager: The consulting firm representing the developer, and the proposed project, in public meetings and community outreach.Montrose LLC
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Environmental Consultant: The environmental firm selected for the project by the developer.Pilot Environmental
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End user of data center: The company that would ultimately occupy or operate the facility has not been publicly disclosed.Unknown to the public
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- Location
- Rural Hall, Forsyth County
- Land size
- ~129 acres
- Buildings
- 4 large structures
- Total footprint
- ~1.3 million sq ft
- Utility infrastructure
- Includes utility infrastructure (substation)
- Intended use
- Hyperscale data center (AI / computing)
Why this project could harm Rural Hall
- Continuous industrial noise from cooling equipment
- Backup generator noise and diesel pollution
- Major electricity demand and substation infrastructure
- Unanswered water demand from cooling systems
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Historic and cultural impacts near Nazareth Lutheran Church
Nazareth Lutheran Church, founded in 1778, sits directly beside the proposed site. Its long history, historic cemetery, and recognized place in Rural Hall’s heritage make this more than a typical land use dispute.
- 4 years of construction traffic, clearing, and disruption
- Potential impacts to streams and wetlands
- Loss of farmland and open space
- Permanent industrialization across from town center
Community response
- Petition opposing rezoning: 3,800+ signatures
- On April 13, Rural Hall Town Council revised its opposition resolution to remove prior conditions for approval and take a firmer position against the proposed project.
- Public feedback reported as largely negative
- High expected turnout at public meetings
About NDCRH
No Data Center Rural Hall is a group of residents, families, workers, homeowners, renters, business owners, and neighbors in Rural Hall and Forsyth County, who recently learned that a massive hyperscale data center campus is proposed across the street from Rural Hall Town Hall.
We created this site to help residents understand the proposal, contact decision-makers, follow public meetings, and find source materials in one place. We believe this project is the wrong fit for Rural Hall and should be denied.
NDCRH is not affiliated with any political party. Our focus is opposition to this proposed data center rezoning and its impact on Rural Hall and surrounding communities.
Resources
Download / Print / Share materials
Use these materials to help share information with neighbors, local businesses, and community groups.
Official documents and public records
- Forsyth County - Board of Commissioners contact information
- Winston-Salem / Forsyth City-County Planning Board - Agendas and minutes
- City of Winston-Salem - 2026 City-County Planning Board items
Official land use plans for Rural Hall
The most detailed official guidance for this exact site is still the Rural Hall Area Plan Update (adopted August 8, 2016). The plan details the project site to be mixed-use development, not light industrial or anything resembling a campus at this scale.
Rural Hall Area Plan Update (2016)
Current active plan for this area.
Forward 2045 Comprehensive Plan
Adopted 2024/2025 — the county-wide vision for future growth and development.
Why data centers at this scale raise concern
- Environmental and Energy Study Institute - “Communities are raising noise pollution concerns about data centers” (Mar 2026)
- Consumer Reports - “AI Data Centers Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More” (Mar 2026)
- World Resources Institute - “7 Ways Data Centers Affect US Communities” (Feb 2026)
- Frontiers in Climate - “Health implications of the rapid rise of data centers in Virginia: an exploratory assessment” (Feb 2026)
- Nature Sustainability (Cornell University) - “Environmental impact and net-zero pathways for sustainable artificial intelligence servers in the USA” (Nov 2025)
- Brookings Institution - “The future of data centers” (Nov 2025)
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy - “Data Drain: The Land and Water Impacts of the AI Boom” (Oct 2025)
- American Planning Association - “The Physical Footprint of Artificial Intelligence” (Zoning Practice, Oct 2025)
Media
- WXII 12 - Rural Hall town council revises opposition resolution for proposed data center
- WXII 12 - ‘No One Here Wants This’: Tempers flare at packed Rural Hall meeting over data center plan
- WFMY News 2 - “Biggest mess Rural Hall has ever seen” | Residents voice concerns about data center at town hall meeting
- ABC45 - Over 100 frustrated residents attend Rural Hall community meeting on data center proposal
- WXII 12 - Rural Hall data center and town meeting coverage
- WGHP FOX8 - Local coverage of the Forsyth County proposal
- WFDD - Residents and commissioners on the proposal
- Winston-Salem Journal - County review and project details
- Greensboro News & Record - County review of the data center plan
- Data Center Dynamics - Reporting on Drox Group, project scale, and community petition