Reporting by Katherine Lin at Mississippi Today, Illan Ireland at the Mississippi Free Press and Zachary Whalen at Planetizen.
A developer plans to build a $6 billion data center campus in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, a county of about 11,000 people. The project is expected to bring more than 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs, according to Mississippi Today.
The developer is Eagle Rock Partners, a North Carolina real estate development firm. The project is called Big Woods Technology Park.
What Happened
Eagle Rock Partners plans a three-building complex totaling about 2 million square feet. The project is in the design stage, with submissions in preparation, and construction could start as early as 2027, Mississippi Today reported.
The developer told the paper it will not ask for tax abatements or incentives. The county Board of Supervisors is working on agreements with the company now.
Residents heard the details at a public meeting in Bassfield, where the flyer promised answers "straight from the people who know." The company put its intent in one line: "Eagle Rock looks forward to creating new opportunities in Jefferson Davis County."
The Jobs
The numbers come in two parts, and both matter.
Construction. More than 1,000 temporary jobs during the build. A campus of three large buildings needs electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, concrete crews, equipment operators and the trades that wire and finish the inside. Those jobs pay while the campus goes up, and they draw contractors and suppliers into the area for the length of the project.
Permanent. About 200 jobs once the campus is running. Those are the long-term payroll: the technicians, electricians, facilities staff and security that keep a data center operating around the clock.
For a county of about 11,000 people, 200 permanent jobs is a real addition to the local workforce.
The construction window is long. The project website says building could begin as early as 2027 and last five to seven years, according to the Mississippi Free Press. That is years of steady work for the building trades, not a single season.
The Local View
Gary Russell Bass directs the Jefferson Davis County Economic Development Association. He told Mississippi Today that the jobs, investment and tax revenue "could completely transform this county."
Bass said he did his own due diligence before getting behind the project. He also noted the site is isolated and away from homes.
The developer's decision to skip abatements stands out. It means the campus is expected to go on the county's tax rolls without a negotiated discount. Property tax is what pays for roads, schools and county services over time. Eagle Rock projects roughly $70 million a year in tax revenue for the county at full buildout, according to the Mississippi Free Press. That is the developer's own projection, and the county agreements are still being written.
Todd Jackson, executive vice president of the Area Development Partnership, the regional economic development group, made the case at the county's October 5 Board of Supervisors meeting. "Let's not waste that opportunity," he said.
How It Will Be Built
Big Woods is planned with on-site natural gas generation, which needs approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality before it can operate. That is a second construction project inside the first: generation equipment and the crews to install and run it.
Officials told the Mississippi Free Press that because the campus will make its own power, it will not need a grid connection or new transmission to serve it.
The campus sits on 800 acres of private land near Bassfield, with about 300 acres to be cleared for the data center and support facilities. It will use a closed-loop cooling system. County Engineer Les Dungan put the expected draw at about 20,000 gallons a day, similar to a school or a hotel.
Eagle Rock Partners is also developing data centers in Georgia and South Carolina.
Mississippi's Build
Jefferson Davis County is joining a statewide wave. Mississippi Today reports seven data center campuses are under construction in Mississippi, representing more than $55 billion in investment.
Amazon is one of the companies building. In April, Gov. Tate Reeves announced a $13 billion expansion of Amazon's operations in central Mississippi, with about $12 billion going to Madison County and $1 billion to a project in Clinton, according to the Mississippi Free Press. Those projects carry 700 permanent jobs in Madison County and 100 in Clinton, and the governor said Amazon hopes to bring 2,000 jobs to central Mississippi in total. Amazon's planned investment in the state now stands at $25 billion, and the company says its training programs have trained more than 6,500 Mississippians.
Each of those campuses runs on the same workforce: building trades during construction, then permanent technical staff. Mississippi's community colleges and trade programs are the pipeline for both.
What to Watch
Three things come next. The county agreements with Eagle Rock. The MDEQ review of the on-site generation. And the design submissions that set the schedule for a 2027 start.
When construction begins, more than 1,000 people go to work in Jefferson Davis County. When it finishes, 200 stay.
Sources
- Katherine Lin, "$6B data center planned for Jefferson Davis, one of the poorest counties in the country," Mississippi Today, September 30, 2026.
- Illan Ireland, "Jefferson Davis County Residents Sound Alarm Over Proposed $6 Billion Data Center, Fearing Widespread Harms," Mississippi Free Press, October 7, 2026.
- Heather Harrison and Illan Ireland, "Amazon is expanding data centers in central Mississippi, governor announces," Mississippi Free Press, April 10, 2026.
- Zachary Whalen, "One of nation's poorest counties to receive $6 billion data center," Planetizen, October 4, 2026.
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