EDGERTON, Kan. — Data center project proposals continue to pop up across rural southern Johnson County, Kansas.
The latest will go before the Edgerton Planning Commission on Tuesday evening, with an informational meeting with the developer at 4:30pm in Greenspace, located at 303 East Nelson across from Edgerton City Hall.
DAMAC Digital Solutions Kansas, LLC is proposing to convert an existing 378,000 square foot warehouse in Edgerton, Kansas into a data center facility.
DAMAC Digital's founder Hussain Sajwani, is a native to the United Arab Emirates, a self-made billionaire, with locations across the globe, according to its website.
This project follows proposals in Gardner and Spring Hill, Kansas — where KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa was the first to begin sharing the concerns and voices of neighbors near the proposed developments.
Last week, the City of Gardner, Kansas announced Beale Infrastructure pulled its development application after city leaders told Beale it would not offer tax incentives to help fund the project.
This decision piqued Gardner resident and Edgerton neighbor Courtney Dunning's mind.
"They're finding cities or communities that are going to allow them to build and give them tax credits," she told KSHB 41 on Monday. "What happens in 20 years? Is that company still going to be around or is it going to be an empty building that no money was collected on because it's now empty."
Last year, the Kansas legislature passed Senate Bill 98, home to provisions and funding mechanisms for data centers.
SB 98 establishes a 20-year state and tax exemption designed to attract large-scale, permanent data center developments, according the Kansas Department of Commerce.
To qualify for the tax exemption, a company must demonstrate its commitment to substantial investment, responsible operations, and long-term presences in Kansas.
Additionally, it must invest $250 million eligible data center costs and complete this investment within five years after it finishes operations. It also must create 20 new full time jobs with Kansas residents within two years of commencing operations.
The project must also enter into a ten-year electricity purchase agreement with a utility provider at the project location.
Furthermore, the developer must adopt a comprehensive water plan that embodies responsible stewardship and long-term operational sustainability.
KSHB 41 News staffKansas legislature members
Finally, each applicant must participate in a comprehensive review by the Kansas Intelligence Fusion Center. This ensures the project's equipment, software, ownership structure, and operational purpose to ensure that it poses no risk to Kansas' critical infrastructure.
In a post on KSHB 41's Let's Talk! Southern Johnson County & Miami County News Facebook Group, Gamboa took the temperature of how residents in the Gardner-Edgerton area feel about tax incentives possibly being on the table for these developments.
Not one person responded in favor of local governance offering tax breaks for data center developments.
KSHB 41 reached out to the city of Edgerton to ask about tax incentives for its data center proposal.
A city spokesperson explained that the city has not had any conversations with the developer about it.
DAMAC Digital also did not respond to KSHB 41's request for comment.
"One of the differences that we’re seeing with the hyperscalers versus the smaller ones, they are going to places we didn’t traditionally see," explained Arlene Martinez with Good Jobs First. "Smaller data centers were going to places where there is a lot of cheap land and oftentimes regulation is lower so it’s faster to scale up and build."
Good Jobs First is a non-profit organization that promotes government accountability in economic development.
Martinez and her team are tracking data center development across the country and told KSHB 41 that some of the biggest tax incentive packages being being offered are for data centers.
"Amazon got a several billion-dollar break in Indiana," she said. "It’s very common for these facilities to get very large tax breaks."
Martinez went on to add that in some states, the abated monies involved in these projects is not always disclosed.
Good Jobs First finds providing tax incentives is not a good use of taxpayer money.
"With data centers, it's so core to the business model of these companies that incentives don’t really make sense, they have to build these things because they’re in their AI races," she said. "So, for some of these biggest companies in the world to get taxpayer dollars is a pretty poor use of the public’s money. And not only that you’re negating any benefit you're getting from any data center, which means you’re giving tax breaks, and the community is not getting any of the money."
The city of Gardner declined to speak more about the conversations they had with Beale regarding potential tax abatements.
Gamboa reached out to Beale Infrastructure again on Monday to better understand the role tax incentives plan on its projects.
"Local incentives are a financing tool communities often use to attract significant investments and economic development projects that align with their goals," a Beale spokesperson wrote in an email. "Beale’s priority is to build best-in-class data center facilities through its responsible development model, which emphasizes disciplined site selection aligned with local land use planning, proactive engagement and long-term partnership with local communities, and direct investment to strengthen area infrastructure and the local workforce."
When asked about Gardner's decision to not offer tax breaks, Beale's response was that its decision was based on a "multitude of factors."
Beale Infrastructure is in the process of building a $3 billion data center campus in De Soto, Kansas.
In August 2025, the De Soto city council entered into a Development Agreement with Mount Sunflower, LLC and resolution of intent to use Industrial Revenue Bond-incentives to support a multi-phase data center campus within city limits.
"Incentives and community partnerships work together to attract projects and investment that likely would not otherwise happen. Tax incentive structures are designed precisely to make projects like ours viable in communities that benefit from them — through construction jobs, permanent local employment, and a significantly expanded local tax base over time," the Beale Spokesperson said.
On Monday afternoon, Beale Infrastructure announced a $250,000 investment into De Soto for projects that would go to different community programs — including the De Soto Kansas Food Pantry and USD 232 Education Foundation.
The development initiative also includes lighting the downtown De Soto water tower near 83rd and Wea Street and revitalizing local recreation by sponsoring the irrigation system for two new ball fields at Riverfest Park. Money will also be allocated to De Soto Days and offer additional grant projects identified by local partners.
“This significant investment in our community, both in terms of economic impact and community support, speaks to Beale’s commitment to being a true community partner,” said Rick Walker, Mayor of De Soto. “Their support for local organizations and initiatives will have a real impact, and we appreciate their investment in De Soto’s future, and we look forward to our community having the opportunity to learn more at the June public event.”
Senate Bill 98 also drew criticism from Leavenworth County Commission Chairman Mike Stieben at a town hall event in late April.
Tonganoxie residents have been fighting a data center in their community.
The Leavenworth County Commission voted down a data center moratorium at its meeting last week.
Gamboa was able to interview Stieben and hear his concerns with the legislation.
"The representative for Cloverleaf said that if there were not incentives contained in Senate Bill 98, the legislature passed last year, they wouldn’t even consider coming to Tonganoxie," Stieben explained. "My position is we need to wind some of those incentives back. There is a place for data centers and some communities they want, but here in Tonganoxie, it doesn’t fit. It’s Kansas, unfortunately, crony capitalism, backing up multi-billion dollar corporations; but the little guy loses. That’s the way I look at it."
Good Jobs First says this is a typical tactic by data center developers to donate money across multiple organizations.
KSHB 41 received a $10,000 invoice regarding a donation by Beale to the Gardner-Edgerton School Foundation, through a Kansas Open Records request.
Martinez said in California, some developers were purchasing school districts new school buses.
"This altruistic gift. What is missing sometimes from these stories, yeah Amazon or other companies might give a small donation, but it really pales in comparison in how much money they’re receiving in tax breaks. I think it is a very common tactic," Martinez said.
For neighbors like Dunning, money donated by data center developers is not something she wants floating around her community.
"In my opinion, it's the devil's money," Dunning added. "It's saying okay, we'll take your money and we'll bring the community around to be in agreement with this."
DAMAC Digital is hosting an open house at Greenspace located at 303 East Nelson in Edgerton ahead of the 7:00p.m. Planning Commission meeting at city hall on Tuesday.
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