Data centers in Franklin County, Virginia: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Franklin County's only tracked project, a Crusoe data center once known inside county government as "Project Flash," is cancelled. Residents pieced the plan together from Freedom of Information Act requests in the spring of 2026, after officials had told a April 30 town hall no data center was coming; supervisor Mike Meredith told a community meeting on August 16 that "Project Flash is not proceeding."

The proposed site was Summit View Business Park, a county-owned industrial park on U.S. 220 near Rocky Mount and the only property in the county zoned to allow a data center without a public hearing or a supervisors' vote. Crusoe and the county had discussed a 50-to-100-megawatt facility since a November 2025 letter of intent, but held no public hearing before residents' FOIA requests turned up Microsoft Teams meeting invitations titled "Project Flash" and "SVBP." A group led by Dawn King-Greer drafted a referendum ordinance requiring a countywide vote for any project drawing 25 megawatts or more.

The secrecy cost Meredith his seat. He resigned on August 18 after disclosing confidential Project Flash details, said on September 2 he had spoken "under duress" and would stay, then dropped his fight on September 9. A 71-page complaint accusing three officials of violating Virginia's open-meetings law has been referred to a special prosecutor. About 150 acres at Summit View remain zoned for a data center by right, and the residents' referendum ordinance had not been scheduled for a vote as of the county's most recent public statement on it.

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.