TAYLOR, TX – A quiet neighborhood in Taylor has become the epicenter of a massive grassroots and legal battle after city officials sold a historic piece of farmland—originally donated to become a public park—to a data center developer for $10 million.
The Broken Promise
The controversy dates back to 1999 when the Bland family granted 87 acres of land to a public trust for just $10. The deed strictly mandated that the tract be held in trust for future use as parkland by Williamson County.
However, after changing hands multiple times, the City of Taylor sold the land in 2025 to BBP Projects LLC for a massive 135,000-square-foot data center project known as “Blueprint.”
A Historic Neighborhood Under Threat
The proposed data center sits just 500 feet behind a historic neighborhood that is home to about 35 minority families. Local resident Pamela Griffin, whose family has lived in the area for generations, expressed shock over the development.
Griffin explained that her neighborhood was one of the first areas in Taylor where Black and Hispanic families were allowed to buy residential lots after the 1968 Fair Housing Act. She recalls the original landowner promising her father that the space would become a park because local children “need somewhere to play.”
Community Demands Postponement
Despite intense pushback from residents—organized in part by community member Carrie D’Anna—the Taylor City Council voted unanimously to approve the project.
Texas is currently home to more than 300 operating data centers, with hundreds more in development. Grassroots movements across Texas cities like San Marcos, Amarillo, and Waco have surged recently due to heavy community concerns over:
- Extreme demands on the Texas energy grid
- Massive consumption of local water supplies
- Industrial noise and proximity to low-income residential areas
The Fight Continues In Court
Griffin and her family have hired a lawyer to halt construction, tracking down the original 1999 deed to prove the land’s intended purpose.
While a local judge recently dismissed their initial lawsuit and denied an injunction to stop construction, the family has officially filed an appeal with the Third Court of Appeals in Austin.
“We are not suing the company to get money,” Griffin stated. “We are suing for the deed to build a park for this community.”
