Texas Parkland-Dedicated Land Sold for $10M Data Center
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- Farmer Mr. Bland donated 87.97 acres in Taylor, Texas in July 1999 to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation for $10, with a deed condition requiring it be 'held in trust for future use as parkland.'
- The land passed through four owners in 25 years: Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation (1999) → Williamson County Park Foundation (2003) → City of Taylor (2003) → Taylor Economic Development Corporation (2008, $15,000) → Blueprint (2025, $10M).
- Blueprint, the data center developer, has won several legal battles against nearby residents opposing the 135,000-square-foot facility; resident Pamela Griffin and her family are now filing an appeal with the Third Court of Appeals in Austin.
- Taylor City Council claims it is powerless to stop the project because the property's Employment Center zoning lets the city regulate only form, not function — though the developer has not yet secured planning or building permits.
- Resident Pamela Griffin, who used to play on the farmland as a child, said she didn't know what a data center was when she learned of the plan in 2025 and cited concerns about noise, air, water, electricity, and home resale prices.
- The city projects $30M in additional tax revenue over the next decade from the development, with $20M earmarked for the school district; promised mitigations include a barrier wall, landscaping, closed-loop water cooling, and a developer-built power substation.
Why it matters: The city stands to gain $30M over a decade (with $20M for schools), but residents argue the council is abdicating authority by claiming Employment Center zoning strips it of power — a defense undercut by the city's own 2008 decision to flip the land to TEDC for $15,000. The appeal tests whether Texas deed restrictions can survive 25 years of ownership transfers engineered to dilute them.
