The Lowndes County Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday morning to approve a project development agreement and a 20-year tax abatement for Project Red Clay, the Nvidia-backed data center planned on more than 1,000 acres at U.S. Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21 in Burkville.

Commissioner Robert Harris made the motion, The Lowndes Signal reported. Commissioner Fletcher Hayes seconded. Harris, Hayes and Chairman Charlie King Jr. voted yes. Commissioners Dickson Farrior and Joseph Barganier voted no.

“I would like to make a motion to approve the resolution and order authorizing, execution and delivery of a project development agreement and a tax abatement agreement for Project Red Clay,” Harris said.

The vote came at the end of a meeting County Attorney Prince Chestnut had opened by warning that time was short because the Lowndes County Circuit Court needed the courtroom to hear cases.

Minutes earlier, commissioners had voted unanimously to schedule a special meeting on October 20 to take up the proposal. Residents in the gallery tried to speak before the vote, and King asked them to let the commission finish its business in the 15 minutes remaining.

He adjourned the meeting after the vote was recorded.

Harris made the motion as a lame duck. He lost the May 19 Democratic primary to Clifford “Cee” Jackson, 55% to 29.5%, and Jackson is unopposed on the November 3 ballot.

In April, Harris argued the commission should take no position on an abatement until a formal request was filed. Cloverleaf’s request reached the commission on October 9. The commission set a public meeting on it for October 20. Harris moved to approve it before that meeting could be held, with residents in the room cut off and the courtroom about to be cleared.

He leaves office next month. The abatement he moved to approve lasts until 2046.

In May, Harris told WSFA the abatement was the only vote the county had on the project.

“The county commission cannot vote to say no to them coming,” Harris said. “The only thing that we do have a vote on is abatements.”

The Lowndes County Economic Development Commission recommended the agreements on October 9, the day of a special commission meeting where residents spoke against the project. District Judge Adrian Johnson, whose property borders the site, described the request at that meeting, speaking as a resident.

“They’re requesting a 20-year, 50% abatement of all ad valorem taxes, a 20-year, 50% abatement of all construction taxes, sales taxes on the construction and the implements to be going into the building, which means in actual dollars that one of the wealthiest corporations in the world is asking of Lowndes County to give them $2.4 billion dollars in tax revenue that’s due to the citizens of this county in a 20-year tax abatement policy, and more importantly, they can’t name who that entity is,” Johnson said.

The developer, Houston- and Seattle-based Cloverleaf Infrastructure, assembles land and power for data centers and sells the sites to the companies that run them. It has not named a buyer for the 1,500-megawatt site, which sits half a mile from a field where Selma-to-Montgomery marchers camped in 1965. Nvidia, the chipmaker worth more than $5 trillion, announced a minority investment in Cloverleaf in August.

Cloverleaf CEO David Berry told WSFA the project will generate about $149 million a year in state and local taxes and 225 permanent jobs. Construction could begin in the first quarter of 2027.

“It really locks in two things; one is how the project will be built and the other is what the economic benefits will be for the county and the state,” Berry said.

In a statement after the vote, Cloverleaf called Project Red Clay the largest economic investment in Lowndes County’s history and projected an average of $124 million a year in local tax revenue, including about $70 million a year for Lowndes County schools, which the company said would be roughly nine times current annual school funding. The company projected about $25 million a year in state tax revenue and about $2.85 billion in total local tax revenue over 20 years, along with more than 1,000 construction jobs.

“This project represents an incredible opportunity for Lowndes County. Through the revenue generated and jobs created, we’ll be able to support our schools, fund essential services, and improve the quality of life for our residents here,” said Thomas Ellis, chairman of the Lowndes County Economic Development Commission.

The company said the development agreements set legally binding standards for setbacks, noise, water use, lighting and backup generator operations, and that those obligations will carry over to the facility’s eventual operator. Cloverleaf has pledged $10 million to the community through the Central Alabama Community Foundation. The company said the first $1 million has been invested for 2026, with more than $150,000 already distributed to groups including Hope Inspired Ministries, the Organized Community Action Program and local fire departments. The remaining $9 million is tied to project milestones.

“We believe the best developments are the ones that create lasting value for the communities where they are located,” Berry said. “Project Red Clay represents a significant investment in Lowndes County, and we are proud of the opportunity to contribute to the county’s economic future through new jobs, increased revenue, and direct investment in the community.”

King also serves as vice chairman of the Lowndes County Economic Development Commission, the body that recruited the project. At the commission’s May 26 meeting he pledged to oppose any 30-year abatement for a data center and voted against Farrior’s motion to deny one.

A law Governor Kay Ivey signed in April cuts the standard maximum data center abatement from 30 years to 20 for deals granted on or after January 1, 2027. Lowndes County, where 25% of residents live in poverty, qualifies for a waiver as an economically struggling county.

Yellowhammer News first reported on the project in April. A petition against it passed 1,000 signatures in May in a county of 9,359 people.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.