Texas City Sells Donated Parkland to Data Center Developer for $10M

In 1999, a farming family deeded 87 acres to Taylor, Texas for $10, with a stipulation the land serve as a public park. The city has now sold that land to Blueprint, a data center developer, for $10 million, breaking the spirit of the original arrangement. A 135,000 square foot facility will rise on ground where generations of local families spent their childhoods.

The site sits roughly 500 feet from longtime resident Pamela Griffin’s home, wedged between a power substation and railroad tracks. The case highlights how the data center boom is increasingly colliding with community land-use commitments, with municipalities trading green space for tax base and infrastructure development tied to the AI buildout.