The Daily Dig
Bitdeer Technologies has a contract to buy roughly 257 acres in Shalersville Township, Ohio, where it wants to build a data center campus capable of scaling up to 750MW. The Singapore based crypto mining and AI infrastructure firm is partnering with local developer Geis Cos. on the project, which would eventually include 15 buildings at the Turnpike Commerce Center.
The first phase is what matters right now. It calls for two data halls at roughly 48,000 square feet each, plus a 51,500 square foot office building, bringing online about 150MW of capacity. A second phase would add 12 more data halls and push the campus toward its full 750MW potential. Bitdeer puts the total build timeline at five years and the cost above $300 million, not counting computing equipment.
Jobs and tax revenue are part of the pitch. Phase one is projected to create 30 to 50 permanent jobs, scaling to 150 to 200 if the full campus gets built. Bitdeer reportedly is not seeking tax abatements on this project, and expects the first phase to generate around $2.17 million a year in property tax revenue, with a guarantee to cover any shortfall.
None of this is approved yet. Shalersville Township has a moratorium on data center development running until early November. Officials put the pause in place so they could study noise, lighting, landscaping, building size, utility use, and fire suppression before any project moves forward. A public meeting on the proposal was held June 16 at the Township Hall.
Senior project manager Paul Hanson said the first group of buildings will run a closed loop cooling system using about 350 gallons of water a day, with no wells on site. Bitdeer also plans sound walls and earth mounds to manage noise. This adds to Bitdeer's existing Ohio pipeline, which already includes a 221MW Bitcoin mining site in Massillon, a 570MW project in Clarington, and a 300MW site in Niles.
Snapshot:
Project: Shalersville data center campus
Developer/Operator: Bitdeer Technologies Group
Local Development Partner: Geis Cos.
Location: Turnpike Commerce Center, Shalersville Township, Portage County, Ohio
Sector: Data center / crypto mining and AI infrastructure
Site Size: Approximately 257 acres
Total Buildings (Full Build): 15
Power Capacity, Phase 1: Approximately 150MW
Power Capacity, Full Buildout: Up to 750MW
Phase 1 Scope: Two data halls (approximately 48,000 sq ft each), 51,500 sq ft office building
Phase 2 Scope: 12 additional data halls
Estimated Cost: $300M+ (excludes computing equipment)
Estimated Timeline: Approximately 5 years for full campus
Jobs, Phase 1: 30 to 50 permanent
Jobs, Full Buildout: 150 to 200 permanent
Tax Strategy: Reportedly not seeking tax breaks
Projected Tax Revenue, Phase 1: Approximately $2.17M/year
Water Use: Closed loop cooling system, approximately 350 gallons/day (Phase 1 buildings), no wells
Noise Mitigation: Sound walls, earth mounds, landscaping
Status: Pending approval; public meeting held June 16; township moratorium in effect until early November
TheJobWalk Thoughts
Shalersville's moratorium covers six specific categories: noise, lighting, landscaping, building size, utility use, and fire suppression. That list is effectively a preview of the permitting checklist contractors will eventually face here, and it skews heavily toward site work and environmental controls rather than the structures themselves. Sound walls and earth mounds showing up early in Bitdeer's pitch is not a coincidence.
The tax position is the more interesting signal. Declining abatements and backing a revenue guarantee removes the easiest objection a township can raise against a project this size. It does not touch the rules still being written, but it tells other developers eyeing similar sites that fiscal terms alone will not be enough to clear a skeptical township.
