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In a bold stand against corporate pressure, a mother and daughter duo from Kentucky have rejected a staggering $26 million bid for their farmland. The offer came from a developer working on behalf of an unnamed Fortune 100 company with plans to construct a massive data center on the property.
Ida Huddleston, the 82-year-old matriarch, has repeatedly turned down the lucrative proposition for her 71-acre estate in Mason County. The offer amounted to $4.26 million, assessed at $60,000 per acre. Despite the developer’s relentless insistence, Huddleston remains firm in her decision, expressing her frustration to LEX 18 over their unwavering persistence.
Her daughter, Delsia Bare, faced a similar proposition. The developer proposed $48,000 per acre for her expansive 463-acre property, summing up to over $22 million. Like her mother, Bare chose not to accept the offer.
“I said I don’t want your money, I don’t need your money, but I do feel sorry for everybody around us,” Huddleston told the news outlet, underlining her resolute stance.
The refusal stems from their belief that the proposed data center could have detrimental effects on the local community. The ongoing pressure to sell has only solidified their resolve to retain their land, demonstrating a commitment to preserving the integrity and well-being of their surroundings.
They said the secrecy surrounding the project — particularly the company’s refusal to reveal its identity — has only fueled their determination to keep their land.
“When they will not reveal who they are that’s a major player in what you’re going to do with the rest of your life if you are stuck here or even if you are leaving here,” Bare said.
The proposed data center would be built near Big Pond Pike Road in rural Kentucky, around an hour and a half from Lexington.
Several landowners have already been approached about selling farmland for the project — a development local officials say could transform the region economically, according to LEX 18.
“As far as jobs would go, they would become, if not our largest employer, definitely top three,” Tyler McHugh, economic development director for the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority, told the outlet.
McHugh said the data center could create around 400 full-time jobs and more than 1,500 construction jobs in the county and surrounding area.
However, the mother and daughter remain skeptical that those jobs will remain once the project is built.
“My guess is you won’t have over 50 and they won’t even be here at this building when it’s said and done,” Bare said.
As for her 82-year-old mother, she said nothing will make her budge.
“I’m staying put,” Huddleston told the outlet.
Despite the women’s unwillingness to sell their land, the Mason County Fiscal Court still needs to approve the project, LEX 18 reported.
Tech giants are swarming around rural cities to build their data centers.
Last week, George Washington University sold its Virginia Science and Technology Campus to Amazon Data Services to turn the site into a data center.
The company purchased the land for $427 million, according to The Hatchet.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to build 15 data centers in Mount Pleasant, Michigan after purchasing the land in 2024, the Biz Times reported in January.