Data center profile · Highway O and Pheland Road, near Pacific, Franklin County, Missouri

Beltline Crooked Creek (Meramec Valley Technology Park)

Beltline Energy's $16 billion data-center proposal on about 500 acres near Pacific, Missouri, rezoned by Franklin County over its planning board's objection after the city itself shut the door

County rezoned; city blocked. Franklin County approved the rezoning on Sept. 15, 2026 despite its planning board voting against it; the City of Pacific had passed a one-year data-center moratorium and Beltline withdrew its application. No tenant, MW figure or utility filing on record.
$16B
proposed investment (press)
as stated in coverage of the city application
~500 acres
McLaren property plus the Alt property
495 acres near Pacific in county records coverage
4-5
planning board vote on the rezoning
not recommended; the county commission approved it anyway
1 year
City of Pacific data-center moratorium
passed Aug. 5, 2026
OperatorBeltline Energy LLC (Atlanta), through its subsidiary BLE Landholdings LLC
CustomerNone named
Next stepOpponents have threatened to sue over the county approval; no filing is on record for this site
Permits

Permits checklist

1 withdrawn · 1 moratorium · 1 granted · 1 checked, nothing on file

County and city actions on record. A planning board recommendation is not a decision.

Risks

Why it stopped, what could revive it

Power

Power and the grid

Sources on record, size not disclosed

Getting on the grid

Money

Money on record

$16B proposed investment (press) (no development agreement or abatement found). News report · Aug. 2026

Not on record: development agreement, PILOT or abatement: searched city and county records, Oct. 2026 Local government · Oct. 2026

Timeline

What happened, and what is due

SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
  1. Feb. 2026
    Site Re-appointment of landowner William McLaren to the county planning board is tabled News report · Aug. 2026
  2. March 17, 2026
    Permits County planning hearing runs 11 hours as 174+ residents register to speak, most against News report · March 2026
  3. April 21, 2026
    Permits Planning board votes 4-5, so the rezoning is not recommended Local government · April 2026
  4. Aug. 5, 2026
    Permits City of Pacific passes a one-year moratorium on data-center applications News report · Aug. 2026
  5. Aug. 7, 2026
    Permits BLE Landholdings withdraws its city rezoning application News report · Aug. 2026
  6. Sept. 15, 2026
    Permits Franklin County Commission approves the county rezoning for the Meramec Valley Technology Park Local government · Sept. 2026
  7. Sept. 29, 2026
    Legal Residents press commissioners; county counsel advises silence because of threatened litigation News report · Sept. 2026
The buildings

Specs

~500 acres at Highway O and Pheland Road, plus the Alt property on Denton Road. News report · Aug. 2026

Who is involved

Owners, partners and builders

Owners
  • Beltline Energy LLC: Atlanta renewable-energy developer
  • BLE Landholdings LLC: Beltline subsidiary, rezoning applicant
  • Linda and William McLaren: landowners
Decision-makers
  • Franklin County Commission: approved the rezoning
  • Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission: voted against recommending it
  • City of Pacific Board of Aldermen and Mayor Debbie Kelley: moratorium
Power partners
  • Ameren Missouri: utility listed for the area (no filing)
Opponents
  • Pacific ROOT Coalition
Still unknown

Open questions

Where this comes from

26 records from 6 documents

Drawn from news reports, public and commercial datasets and local government records, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.

News report 5Dataset 2Local government 1
Evidence

Every quote behind this page

Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.

Power (2)
  • Ameren Missouri is the utility listed for the Franklin County projects in the county tracker - context only: Beltline has made no utility filing, named no end user and stated no MW, and as a renewable-energy developer it
    “Utility Ameren Missouri”
    Dataset · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • No MW has been stated by Beltline Energy, BLE Landholdings, the city or the county on any basis.
    “Crooked Creek (Beltline Energy) — A proposed $16 billion campus on land near the City of Pacific's Wastewater Treatment Facility”
    News report · April 2026 · grade C
Money and contracts (1)
  • The Pacific proposal was a $16 billion proposal concerning a roughly 500-acre property at Highway O and Pheland Road owned by Linda and William McLaren, plus the Alt Property on Denton Road. Figure as stated by the sourc
    “The $16 billion proposal concerned a 500-acre property at Highway O and Pheland Road (684) owned by Linda and William McLaren, as well as the Alt Property on Denton Road.”
    News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
Permits and government (10)
  • Franklin County Commission:
    “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED by the County Commission that the rezoning request filed by BLE Landholdings, LLC be approved, resulting in the subject property being rezoned from the W district to the A district.”
    Local government · Sept. 2026 · grade A
  • Franklin County Planning & Zoning Commission:
    “the vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission resulting in a vote with four in favor and five opposed, the motion failed and the rezoning was not recommended for approval”
    Local government · April 2026 · grade A
  • County code: 29071
    “On September 15, 2026, the Franklin County Commission approved BLE Landholdings LLC's rezoning request, file 260037, Commission Order 2026-257, for the proposed Meramec Valley Technology Park.”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Project status: city application withdrawn; county rezoning approved Sep 15 2026
    “The developer's separate earlier City of Pacific application was reported withdrawn, but that does not undo the county rezoning action.”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Franklin County Commission approved BLE Landholdings LLC's rezoning request (fil: County rezoning APPROVED - BLE Landholdings LLC, file 260037, Order 2026-257 (Sep. 15, 2026)
    “On September 15, 2026, the Franklin County Commission approved BLE Landholdings LLC’s rezoning request, file 260037, Commission Order 2026-257, for the proposed Meramec Valley Technology Park.”
    Dataset · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Decisive B6 items: the City of Pacific passed a one-year data center moratorium on Aug 5, 2026 preventing acceptance of data center applications; BLE Landholdings withdrew its city rezoning application Aug 7, 2026. The F
    “Two days prior to the withdrawal, the city of Pacific passed a one-year data center moratorium that prevented the acceptance of applications related to the "development, zoning, permitting, or use of property for data centers."”
    News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
  • City of Pacific Board of Aldermen:
    “Two days prior to the withdrawal, the city of Pacific passed a one-year data center moratorium that prevented the acceptance of applications related to the “development, zoning, permitting, or use of property for data centers.””
    News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
  • Opposition highlighted that landowner William McLaren was a member of the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission at the time of the application; his re-appointment to the commission was tabled in February 2026
    “Opposition to the data center expressed concern about the facility's environmental impact and highlighted a potential conflict of interest given that William McLaren was a member of the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission at the time of the application.”
    News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
  • Franklin County P&Z, at a packed Union High School gym session, recommended appr: Rezoning recommended DENIAL (Apr. 21, 2026, 5-4 votes that day)
    “the Franklin County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the Diamond Farms rezoning and recommended denial of the Crooked Creek rezoning”
    Dataset · April 2026 · grade C
  • Announced: March 17, 2026
    “The second proposal, put forth by energy company BLE Landholdings – otherwise known as Beltline – requested the rezoning of 12 parcels totaling 490 acres around 684 Phelan Road.”
    News report · March 2026 · grade C
Legal (1)
  • Pacific ROOT Coalition signalled it would sue if the County Commission approved Crooked Creek over the P&Z denial; at a late-September 2026 Commission meeting residents pressed for explanations of the approval votes and
    “Public commenters at a Franklin County commission meeting pressed for explanations about recent votes approving two proposed hyperscale data centers, raising concerns about transparency, power-grid capacity and health risks.”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C