Data centers in Medina County, Texas: 4 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Medina County, just west of San Antonio, has gone from farm country to one of Texas's data center clusters in a few years. Microsoft is the anchor, with campuses on the county's eastern edge, including two 106,000-square-foot buildings at FM 471 and Potranco Road and a third, SAT82, costing nearly $500 million; the San Antonio Report found Microsoft owns at least 12 parcels in the county. Rowan Digital Infrastructure is building its 440-acre Cinco campus near Lytle, up to 300 megawatts at full build-out, with the first of up to seven buildings due in 2027. Texas Monthly reported officials know of eight data centers in some stage of development, with the true number possibly higher.

The county has negotiated rather than fought the projects. "They're allowed to do this," County Judge Keith Lutz told Texas Monthly. "I want to get what's best for us." SAT82 received a 15-year, 80 percent property tax abatement; Lutz said even abated data centers produce property tax equal to almost 900 homes, and Commissioner Jessica Castiglione put the county's 20-year benefit at $87 million.

Water is the fear, since the county depends on the drought-restricted Edwards Aquifer. When Microsoft asked Yancey Water Supply for water, the utility's Scooter Mangold said he "told them they'd lost their minds" and told them to switch to air cooling, which he said cut the request by about 85 percent, some 150,000 gallons a day. Rowan says it will fund an aquifer conservation program to offset 250 percent of its water use, a company claim. Neighbors are unconvinced: Suzanne Stinson, whose family has farmed outside Castroville since the 1840s, said of a Microsoft site under construction since 2022, "They're taking out agricultural production for cloud space." Reesie Rihn, who shares fence with CyrusOne, called "bullcrap" on claims the centers use less water than subdivisions.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.