In My Opinion - by Bob Ruth
May 9, 2026 — Bob Ruth
(Full Disclosure: The author, a retired newspaper reporter and political consultant, lives in Grove City less than one mile from the proposed data center. He has friends and family who live even closer.)
A grassroots battle is brewing in Grove City. It involves a proposed mega data center being promoted by a Texas land developer.
The fight will involve one of those rare issues that crosses political and ideological lines. This isn’t about Democrat vs. Republican, conservative vs. liberal. It’s more personal than that.
And the verbal fisticuffs could get down and dirty. Don’t be surprised if some data center supporters characterize opponents as anti-growth, tree-hugging liberal extremists. Some opponents might accuse supporters of being shills for Corporate America who aren’t interested in the average residents’ home property values, health and environment.
The proposed data-center complex would include five or six warehouse-sized buildings and a new power substation built on 300-plus acres west of Harrisburg Pike between Rensch and Beatty Roads, according to its Dallas-based developer, Headwaters Site Development.
About one-third of the land is in Grove City. Most of the remaining acreage is in Pleasant Township. Headwaters Development wants to annex the Pleasant Township land into Grove City so the project can use city sewer and water services.
Housing subdivisions in Grove City’s west side like Autumn Grove, Holton Run and Beulah Park and homes around Windsor Park and Murfin Field and in Pleasant Township could be most affected by the data center. Businesses along Broadway and homes just east of Town Center also could be affected. But if a data center leads real estate agents warning potential home buyers against moving into Grove City, property values throughout the area could suffer.
At this early stage, there are many unanswered questions. What will be the financial benefits to Grove City? Will the benefits outweigh the potential negatives of air, noise and/or water pollution? Will the entire city get an unwanted reputation as Central Ohio’s Hub for Data Centers? Will home property values decrease or, at best, remain stagnate? Will the data center’s dependance on massive amounts electric power – and, maybe, water – result in rate increases for homeowners? These are just a few of many questions.
One thing is certain: Headwaters Development has deep pockets. Its sister business, Stream Data Centers, is a construction company that boasts of building 20 “hyper-scale” data centers throughout the country. Mike Lebow, CEO and founder of Headwaters, is a senior vice president of Stream, according to the companies’ websites.
And who is behind Stream Data Centers? Oh, just a small mom-and-pop outfit named Apollo Global Fund Management. Apollo is a private equity firm that manages almost $1 trillion in assets. That’s right, folks. Not a million. Not a billion. We’re talking nearly One Trillion Dollars. Apollo acquired Stream Data Centers last year.
And here’s a bit of gossip. Leon Black, a co-founder and former CEO of Apollo, was a buddy and financial sugar daddy of the late Jeffrey Epstein, the pedophile multi-millionaire who died in a New York jail. Columbus’ own Les Wexner was Epstein’s biggest financial godfather, according to multiple news reports. And Leon Black was Epstein’s No. 2 financial guy. Black resigned as head of Apollo after his close ties to Epstein were publicized.
In March, 2026, shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in New York City against Marc Rowan, the private equity’s current CEO, and Black. The plaintiffs allege` Rowan and Black misled them about the pair’s financial dealings with Epstein, according to a Reuters news article. In regulatory filings in 2021 and 2022, Black and Rowan falsely claimed they never had any business dealings with Epstein, the suit alleges. Apollo lost $12 billion in stock value during a three-week period in February 2026 after the truth about the two executives’ links to Epstein was revealed, the suit adds. (The author warned you this could get down and dirty.)
Written communications obtained through a freedom-of-information (FOI) request to City Hall indicate Headwaters Development’s representatives have been quietly lobbying some City Council members since February. Headwaters Development’s contacts with Mayor Ike Stage began even earlier, FOI communications indicate.
Data center skeptics joined the fight in late April, months later than Headwaters Development’s lobbying efforts. And the skeptics – mostly local activists and do-gooders – have little money. Talk about David vs. Goliath!
But these activists probably won’t be fighting alone for much longer. As word-of-mouth circulates throughout Grove City, more and more residents are expected to become aware of the pros and cons of the massive project.
Pressure is expected to increase on Mayor Stage and City Council members to delay any final decision until more information can be collected and more residents learn about the potential positive and negative impacts of the proposed complex.
Skeptics are already calling for some sort of 12-month moratorium. Such temporary delays have been enacted by cities, townships and counties throughout Ohio and the nation. Prairie Township and Sunbury are just some of the most recent central Ohio governments to enact months-long moratoriums. Cleveland’s City Council is considering a 12-month pause.
A temporary moratorium would allow the city to possibly hold townhall meetings to debate the issues. Such meetings would be more free-wheeling than the public-participation portions of City Council meetings. At Council meetings, residents’ speeches are limited to three minutes. They are not allowed to ask Council members follow-up questions. Back and-forth discussions between the audience and City Council are virtually prohibited. Townhall meetings would be far less restrictive.
A temporary moratorium would provide time for the City Development Department, Planning Commission and city attorney to possibly study ways in which other municipalities in Ohio have enacted local rules to restrict potential pollution from large scale data centers. The city might want to hire its own environmental engineer on a contract basis to study the many and complex issues.
The Council already has rejected a smaller version of a data center on Grove City’s west side. In 2023, the Council unanimously defeated a proposal supported by Mayor Stage to build a data center on part of the land Headwaters now wants to use for its much larger complex. Two of those Council members – Ted Berry and Randy Holt – still serve on Council.
City Hall officials have repeatedly assured skeptics that any possible data center re-zoning will not be placed on the fast track. But skeptics are skeptical. Although Headwaters Development is an out-of-state company, skeptics note the developer probably has the financial ability to hire some of the most powerful attorneys and lobbyists in Ohio.
Headwaters Development initially indicated it would file a formal annexation application and possibly a re-zoning proposal in late April. A Headwaters Development representative recently said written proposals now are expected to be filed with the city and Franklin until late May.
