Army considers Fort Bragg for massive data center project

The Army has selected Fort Bragg as one of four sites where commercial data center development is being considered. The growth of data centers in NC comes with concerns about power, water consumption, and climate change.

The Army has selected Fort Bragg as one of four sites where commercial data center development is being considered, with leaders estimating such a project would require at least 100 megawatts of power.

The announcement came during a Feb. 18 monthly meeting where Jeffrey Williamson, director of Fort Bragg’s Directorate of Public Works, discussed the projected power demand and other post-related topics.

Williamson said six federally owned parcels outside Fort Bragg’s gates, which the Army identified as near Spring Lake in Cumberland County and Spout Springs in Harnett County, are under consideration by potential vendors.

Data centers house information technology infrastructure, such as servers, storage and networking equipment and are designed to manage large volumes of data for businesses, cloud services and AI, according to the Data Center Coalition.

What’s being proposed?

In a recently issued Request for Proposals, the Army invited private, public and nonprofit entities to submit competitive bids to lease underused Army land through what is known as an Enhanced Use Lease program. In addition to Fort Bragg, the solicitation includes sites at Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Bliss, Texas, and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 23.

Under the plan, selected developers would be responsible for designing, financing, permitting, constructing, owning, operating and eventually decommissioning the data centers. The Army would retain ownership of the land.

The proposed leases would run for 50 years, with the possibility of an extension if proposed by the developer and approved by the Army. Companies would be required to compensate the Army at or above the fair market value of the lease interest, either through cash, in-kind consideration or a combination of both.

Documents state that the properties would be subject to federal, state, local, Department of War and Army environmental laws, codes, ordinances and regulations.

Vendors submitting proposals for the Fort Bragg parcels would also be required to assess the project’s impacts on the red-cockaded woodpecker and the federally endangered Saint Francis’ Satyr butterfly.

Vendors are also required to describe community impact in their proposals and how they intend to mitigate risks.

Recent discussions in Fayetteville about proposed data centers have raised concerns among residents who want to know how much power will be used and how much water will be needed to cool technology systems.

Proposals for the Fort Bragg area project must also include details about what infrastructure, such as water and electrical power, would be needed and how water efficiency measures would be incorporated.

According to documents, one vendor asked whether there are “water withdrawal limitations from the lakes adjacent to the parcels,” and the Army said it could not answer that question.

The land in Cumberland County is near the intersection of Honeycutt Road and N.C. 87, south of Spring Lake and adjacent to Simmons Army Airfield and Smith Lake Recreation area.

The land in Harnett County is near N.C. 87 and N.C. 690, south of Nursery Road and Spout Springs.

The vendors will make proposals to the Army for how they would manage the center, and the higher Army headquarters will select the vendor, Williamson said.

He said he’s not sure when a decision will be made, but said he expects it to be completed before the summer.

Soldiers ruck march past some barracks on Ardennes Street in May 2024. Fort Bragg has received $6.3 million to go toward barrack maintenance. (USA Today via Reuters)

All American roadwork plans

In August, Fort Bragg officials estimated it would cost about $20 million to fix a portion of the All American Freeway and Gruber Road bridge. The repair work on All American will mean the All American gate will close.

In other news to come out of the Feb. 18 meeting, Garrison Commander Col. Chad Mixon said designs for the repair work are ready to go, but officials are awaiting funding. He said the hope is for the project to start in mid-summer.

Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Scott said that once the All American gate is closed, more lanes will be opened at other gates to allow “traffic patterns to level out.”

Williamson said the work will take about 18 months to complete. Gruber Bridge has had structural repairs in the past, he said.

“But we need to replace the bridge, and we also need to fix All American … All we need is money,” he said.

Later at the meeting, an audience member said that years ago, when the All American gate was built as the post’s main entry point, the southbound lanes were not resurfaced.

Opinion: The big problem with the plans for a Fayetteville data center

Willamson said there are plans to request additional funds in the FY2027 budget to address more roadwork in the area.

He said there is a plan to bring in a large crane with a 5,000-pound weight to compact the surface, followed by filling the area with a subbase.

$6.3M for barracks

Post leaders also discussed that Fort Bragg is part of a newly created Department of War Barracks Task Force that focuses on improving living conditions, Williamson said.

Additionally, Fort Bragg has received about $6.3 million that will go toward barracks maintenance, Williamson said.

The latest funding is separate from $135 million approved by Congress in 2023 for a 102,820-square-foot building to house 146 junior enlisted soldiers and junior noncommissioned officers, and a 75,706-square-foot building for 146 Special Forces soldiers. Construction is expected to start in 2027.

Addressing problems with on-post housing has been a priority for leaders, with soldiers reporting mold in barracks over the years. In August 2022, more than 1,200 Fort Bragg soldiers moved out of the Smoke Bomb Hill barracks, which were found to have inadequate air conditioning systems.

“This ($6.3 million) is for maintenance. It does all link together. We do have a plan to never have another Smoke Bomb Hill,” Williamson told The Fayetteville Observer following the meeting.

Williamson said the $6.3 million allocation will go toward what is called “between occupancy maintenance,” which happens when soldiers are deployed or rooms are between occupancy.

“We can actually do a wing of a building or a floor of a building, so they can move soldiers around,” he said.

He said the maintenance will address mechanical, electrical and plumbing issues and include painting.

There are different issues to address in each building, and the cost will range from $600,000 to $800,000 each, he said.

Williamson said he expects the work to be completed within the next 10 months.

Other topics of discussion

In other business:

• Mixon said that in July, the Department of Motor Vehicles will put a self-service kiosk in the Soldier Support Center where people can update their state driver’s licenses and obtain vehicle tags.

• Mixon said a campus-style dining venue should open in the spring across the street from the Soldier Support Center, next to Albritton Middle School. Fort Bragg is one of five installations piloting a program for privatized campus dining venues. He said the facility will be open to both soldiers and their families.

Reporting by Rachael Riley, Fayetteville Observer / The Fayetteville Observer

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