Farmer donates land for a park, city sells it for $10M as data center land

农民捐地建公园，市政府却以 1000 万美元将其卖给数据中心开发商

Back in 1999, 87 acres of land in Taylor, Texas, was donated (nominal fee $10) to the city by a farmer, with a condition in the deed that it would be used for community parkland. In 2025, the land was sold for $10M to a data center developer, who has won several legal battles against the nearby residents who are trying to stop the massive construction project, reports 404 Media. Now, the disgruntled locals are planning to take their case to an appeals court. 1999 年，德克萨斯州泰勒市的一位农民将 87 英亩土地以象征性的 10 美元价格捐赠给了市政府，并在地契中规定该土地必须用于社区公园建设。据 404 Media 报道，2025 年，这块土地以 1000 万美元的价格被卖给了一家数据中心开发商。尽管当地居民试图阻止这一大型建设项目并多次发起法律诉讼，但开发商目前已赢得数场官司。现在，不满的当地居民正计划向法院提起上诉。

To introduce this case, let’s go back to 1999, when the $10 deed was inked. For some background, 404 Media talked to long-time local Pamela Griffin, who used to play on the farmland, and watched her children grow up and enjoy the same freedom. Griffin recalled that old farmer Mr. Bland used to talk to her father from time to time. According to her, Bland once said to her dad, “I see the kids don’t really have nowhere to play.” He continued, “I’m thinking about giving this land for parkland because these kids need somewhere to play.” The original July 1999 deed has since been unearthed, and the farmer did indeed follow through with his words. 为了介绍这个案件，让我们回到 1999 年那份 10 美元地契签署的时候。据 404 Media 采访的当地长期居民 Pamela Griffin 回忆，她过去常在那片农田里玩耍，并看着自己的孩子长大，享受着同样的自由。Griffin 回忆说，老农夫 Bland 先生过去常与她的父亲交谈。据她所述，Bland 曾对她父亲说：“我发现孩子们确实没地方玩。”他接着说：“我打算把这块地捐出来做公园，因为孩子们需要玩耍的地方。”1999 年 7 月的那份原始地契现已被发掘出来，证明这位农民确实兑现了他的诺言。

Now, let’s make the following chain of events simple using a bullet point timeline: 现在，让我们用时间轴来梳理一下事件的经过：

• Pre 1999 – a farmer’s promise to his neighbors.
• 1999 年之前 – 一位农民对邻居的承诺。
• July 7, 1999 – Bland granted the land to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation, a public trust, for $10 on the condition it be used as a park.
• 1999 年 7 月 7 日 – Bland 以 10 美元的价格将土地授予公共信托机构“德克萨斯州公园与娱乐基金会”，条件是必须将其用作公园。
• 2003 - Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation granted the land to another non-profit called the Williamson County Park Foundation.
• 2003 年 – 德克萨斯州公园与娱乐基金会将土地转让给另一个名为“威廉姆森县公园基金会”的非营利组织。
• 2003, one month later - Williamson County Park Foundation gave the land to the City of Taylor.
• 2003 年（一个月后） – 威廉姆森县公园基金会将土地移交给泰勒市政府。
• 2008 - the city of Taylor sold the land to the Taylor Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) for $15,000.
• 2008 年 – 泰勒市政府以 1.5 万美元的价格将土地卖给了泰勒经济发展公司 (TEDC)。
• 2025 – TEDC sold the land to data center developers Blueprint for $10 million.
• 2025 年 – TEDC 以 1000 万美元的价格将土地卖给了数据中心开发商 Blueprint。

This is quite a tale, and there appears to be a lot at stake for parties on either side of the dispute. In summary, locals face a multitude of undesirable side effects coming from having a data center in their backyard. There’s also the principle of the original deed being ignored, a big deal in Texas. Meanwhile, the council asserts that stopping this kind of development (in the city zone it is situated) is beyond its scope, and the millions in tax raised will benefit residents. 这是一个相当曲折的故事，争议双方似乎都面临巨大的利害关系。简而言之，当地居民面临着在自家后院建设数据中心所带来的诸多负面影响。此外，原始地契被无视的原则问题在德克萨斯州也是一件大事。与此同时，市议会声称，阻止此类开发（在其所属的城市区域内）超出了其职权范围，且由此产生的数百万美元税收将造福居民。

Griffin only found out about the planned 135,000-square-foot data center on the land when local organizers called around the neighborhood to raise awareness in 2025. She didn’t even know what a data center was at the time. Looking it up with her family, the idea of such a construction on your doorstep didn’t appeal. Griffin 直到 2025 年当地组织者在社区挨家挨户宣传时，才得知这块土地上计划建设一个 13.5 万平方英尺的数据中心。当时她甚至不知道什么是数据中心。在与家人查阅相关资料后，他们认为在自家门口进行这样的建设并不令人愉快。

Locals like Griffin became concerned about impacts to air, water, electricity, and noise. In correspondence with the City Council, they have been assured that work will be done to minimize health risks to people living nearby. Mitigations like a barrier wall, landscaping, closed-loop water cooling, and the developers building their own power substation were mentioned. 像 Griffin 这样的当地居民开始担心空气、水、电力和噪音方面的影响。在与市议会的通信中，他们得到保证，政府将采取措施最大限度地减少对附近居民的健康风险。相关缓解措施包括修建隔音墙、景观美化、闭环水冷系统，以及由开发商自行建设变电站等。

While folks might not want to live near a data center for the aforementioned reasons, it may also negatively impact the resale price of nearby homes. However, the City Council says that the expected extra $30M in tax revenue over the coming decade will be a positive for the area, with $20M earmarked for the school district. 虽然人们可能因为上述原因不愿住在数据中心附近，但这还可能对附近房屋的转售价格产生负面影响。然而，市议会表示，未来十年预计增加的 3000 万美元税收将对该地区产生积极影响，其中 2000 万美元已拨给学区。

Meanwhile, the council has also painted its situation as one where it is powerless to resist the data center development. This was made clear in a council website FAQ. 404 Media investigations revealed that this lack of power to change the course of the development is likely because of the property’s existing Employment Center zoning. The City can only regulate form, not function, it seems. However, the dev hasn’t yet secured the City’s approval for planning and building permits. 与此同时，市议会也将自己的处境描述为无力阻止数据中心开发。这一点在市议会网站的常见问题解答中表述得很清楚。404 Media 的调查显示，这种无法改变开发进程的无力感，很可能是因为该物业现有的“就业中心”分区规划所致。市政府似乎只能监管建筑形式，而不能监管其功能。不过，开发商目前尚未获得市政府的规划和建筑许可批准。

With the lack of satisfactory response from the council, Griffin and her family decided to hire a lawyer. There then followed a series of legal disputes, which, so far, have favored Blueprint. Nevertheless, Griffin and family members are filing an appeal with the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas. 由于未能从市议会得到满意的答复，Griffin 和她的家人决定聘请律师。随后发生了一系列法律纠纷，到目前为止，结果都对 Blueprint 有利。尽管如此，Griffin 和她的家人仍向德克萨斯州奥斯汀的第三上诉法院提起了上诉。

Land deeds are powerful documents in Texas. Activists opposed to the data center unearthed the original July 7, 1999, deed, which is shared on the 404 Media site. Indeed, we can see the legal document does stipulate that the 87.97 acres of land “be held in trust for future use as parkland.” 在德克萨斯州，地契是具有法律效力的重要文件。反对数据中心的活动人士发掘出了 1999 年 7 月 7 日的原始地契，该文件已在 404 Media 网站上公开。事实上，我们可以看到该法律文件确实规定，这 87.97 英亩土地“应作为信托资产，供未来用作公园用地”。

Central to Griffin’s determination to continue is the notion that “I’m not fighting just because of a data center. I’m fighting because this land was deeded for parkland.” Texas deeds need to be upheld, and the community should have a park, according to the resident. Griffin 坚持抗争的核心理念是：“我不是仅仅因为数据中心而战。我抗争是因为这块土地的地契明确规定它是用于公园的。”这位居民认为，德克萨斯州的地契必须得到维护，社区理应拥有一个公园。