Quick answer. On August 18, 2026, Greensboro City Council voted 8-0 with one recusal to enact a 180-day data center moratorium for any project exceeding 10 megawatts of electrical power. The pause runs through February 14, 2027. It does not apply to High Point, does not affect the roughly six existing small colocation facilities inside Greensboro, and does not touch the already-permitted ImpactData Dream Center at Gateway Research Park.
The single most important thing to understand: this is Greensboro only, not High Point
Before you go anywhere else with this article, you need one thing crystal clear, because the confusion is already showing up in buyer questions this week. The Greensboro moratorium is a City of Greensboro action. It applies inside Greensboro city limits. It does not apply to High Point. It does not apply to Jamestown. It does not apply to unincorporated Guilford County.
That distinction matters because the largest data center project physically located in Guilford County right now, the proposed DC BLOX facility at 4131 Sheraton Court near Piedmont Parkway, is in High Point, not Greensboro. If you are shopping High Point homes near the Piedmont Centre business park, that project is unaffected by the vote you saw on the news this week. The May 2021 High Point EDC press release confirmed the 14-acre site, and the facility is currently listed as proposed with an 18-megawatt capacity target.
The two big Greensboro sites, both of which sit inside city limits, are the existing ImpactData Dream Center at Gateway Research Park South Campus, 2901 East Gate City Boulevard, and any theoretical new proposal that has not yet been submitted. Only the second one is paused.
What the 180-day moratorium actually does
The August 18 Greensboro press release confirms the vote count, 8-0 with one recusal, the duration, 180 days, and the power threshold, greater than 10 megawatts. That threshold is the key number. It is the difference between a small business colocation cabinet inside an office park, which is barely noticeable, and a hyperscale facility that needs its own dedicated Duke Energy substation.
The 180 days did not come out of thin air. On Monday, August 3, 2026, City Council voted 9-0 to begin the formal moratorium process with a 120-day pause. After the August 17 public hearing, at which several speakers requested longer moratoriums up to two years or more, council extended the duration to 180 days and passed it the following night. Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter framed the goal simply: any future regulations should be thoughtful, well-informed, and responsive to Greensboro residents.
Practically, here is what is paused and what is not. What is paused: acceptance, processing, and approval of new development applications for data centers, data-storage facilities, and similar uses with an electrical power demand greater than 10 megawatts, inside Greensboro. What is not paused: every existing operational facility, every already-permitted project, every application below the 10-megawatt threshold, and every project outside Greensboro city limits.
Guilford County data center inventory: the actual list
Public reporting has been rough on the numbers. Some outlets have written that Greensboro has seven data centers with two more on the way. That figure does not match what the industry trackers show. According to Data Center Map, updated August 19, 2026, Greensboro has 13 mapped facilities. Every existing one is a small colocation site tucked inside an industrial or office park. The two named large projects, one existing/permitted and one still proposed, are the outliers.
Here is the version you can actually use.
Table 1 — Guilford County data center inventory as of August 2026
| Facility | City | Status | Capacity | Nearest neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TierPoint Greensboro | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | West Wendover corridor |
| tw telecom / Lumen Greensboro | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | Northwest Greensboro business parks |
| GTT Greensboro | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | Airport / West Wendover |
| CenterServ Greensboro | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | West Greensboro industrial |
| Dynamic Quest Greensboro | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | Battleground Ave corridor |
| Lumen Greensboro 2 | Greensboro | Operational | Under 10 MW | Northwest office parks |
| TierPoint High Point (CLT2) | High Point | Operational | 2 MW | Business park south of I-74 |
| ImpactData Dream Center | Greensboro | Permitted, under construction | 20 MW Q1 2027, scale to 100 MW+ | East Greensboro, near NC A&T, adjacent to Gateway Research Park South |
| DC BLOX High Point | High Point (not Greensboro) | Proposed | 18 MW target | Piedmont Centre business park, near Piedmont Parkway & Sheraton Court |
Capacity for the Dream Center comes from Raeden’s own July 2025 project overview: 20 MW available in Q1 2027, scaling to 100 MW+ on 38 acres, powered by Duke Energy, with direct-to-chip liquid cooling. Earlier reporting referenced older or aspirational 300 MW figures, but the developer’s current published spec is 100 MW+. That distinction matters if you are calculating substation footprint or grid load.
What buyers near these sites are actually asking
You want to know what your neighbors will ask if you buy a home within a mile of one of these sites. Here is the shortlist that comes up on every showing.
Table 2 — What buyers near a Guilford County data center site want to know
| Concern | The honest answer |
|---|---|
| Noise | Modern liquid-cooled facilities are much quieter than air-cooled. Expect 55 to 70 decibels at the property line for older air-cooled builds. The Dream Center uses direct-to-chip liquid cooling per Raeden’s spec sheet. |
| Water use | Air-cooled and direct-to-chip cooling use dramatically less water than evaporative cooling towers. Ask your agent for the water-use disclosure filed with any site plan you are worried about. |
| Power reliability | Neighborhoods on the same Duke Energy feeder as a large facility can be a benefit or a risk. Duke tends to harden circuits that serve mission-critical loads, but new substations can involve tree clearing and easements. |
| Property values | Peer-reviewed research shows minimal effect beyond a half mile with mature tree buffer. Homes directly abutting a facility can see softer resale on high-visibility sight lines. |
| Substation expansion | This is the sleeper risk. Hyperscale sites drive new substations that need land, easements, and sometimes vegetation removal. Ask about future utility easements before you write. |
I have shown East Greensboro near Gateway for fifteen years. The question I got in 2015 was schools. The question I got in 2020 was commute. The question I got in 2026 is data centers. It is a real question, and I do not brush it off, but the honest answer is that a well-designed liquid-cooled facility with a mature tree buffer is a better neighbor than most industrial uses this side of I-40. What you actually have to watch for is the substation that follows the data center, because that is what shows up in your backyard viewshed.
Teresa Overcash, Broker/Owner Realty ONE Group Results, on East Greensboro showings near Gateway Research Park
Video: what the pause means for Guilford County buyers and sellers
Sale timing implications for sellers within two miles of a data center site
If you are selling a home in East Greensboro near Gateway Research Park, or a High Point home near Piedmont Parkway, the September 2026 through February 14, 2027 window is the moratorium window. It cuts both directions.
The upside for a seller is that the moratorium is quietly reassuring to buyers who were nervous about a wave of new proposals arriving next to their tour route. The signal from city hall is that the next round of applications will have to meet a tougher standard. That is a positive story for a listing agent to tell during a showing.
The downside is that a curious buyer who sees the news headline may want to reprice noise risk into an offer, especially if the home is inside a half mile of a facility. The right response is a proactive seller disclosure paragraph and a fact sheet for the buyer, not silence and a lowball counter.
Table 3 — Sale timing implications for sellers near a Guilford County data center site
| Home distance from a facility | Pricing effect during moratorium window | Recommended seller action |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1,000 feet, direct sight line | Buyers likely to reprice 2 to 5 percent | Full disclosure, third-party noise reading, appraisal-support packet |
| 1,000 feet to half mile, partial buffer | Marginal effect, buyer-specific | Prepare a fact sheet on cooling technology and setbacks |
| Half mile to 1 mile, mature tree buffer | No measurable price effect in comps | Address only if the buyer raises it |
| 1 to 2 miles, no visual or acoustic path | Zero effect | No action required |
The 32-month request versus the 180-day compromise, plus the NC state-law constraint
Several speakers at the August 17 public hearing asked for longer moratoriums, some up to two years or more. Council settled on 180 days, roughly the middle of the range between the original 120-day staff proposal and the longest requests from the public.
Why not just ban them? The ABC45 August 5 preview summarized City Attorney Holston’s point cleanly: North Carolina state law does not permit an outright municipal ban on a legal land use. Cities can zone, condition, and pause, but they cannot prohibit. That is the legal ceiling shaping every part of this ordinance.
Timeline: what happens between now and February 14, 2027
Table 4 — What actually happens during the 180 days
| Window | What is happening |
|---|---|
| August 18, 2026 — October 2026 | City staff scoping. Interdepartmental review of water, power, noise, and zoning implications. No new applications accepted. |
| October 2026 — December 2026 | Zoning Commission work sessions. Public workshops. Draft Land Development Ordinance language circulated for comment. |
| December 2026 — January 2027 | Public hearing on proposed Land Development Ordinance amendments. Council first reading and revisions. |
| January 2027 — February 14, 2027 | Council final adoption. Moratorium sunsets. Applications resume under new rules, or the pause is extended by targeted council action. |
Neighboring counties are doing similar things
Greensboro is not alone. Per WHQR’s August 14 regional roundup, Alamance County is considering a six-month moratorium and Yadkin County is considering a full one-year moratorium. Randolph County took a different route, per Blue Ridge Public Radio, adjusting its existing data-center ordinance rather than pausing new applications. The Winston-Salem Journal quoted one Greensboro councilmember saying they were fine missing the data center wave if the wave came with unaddressed grid and water pressure.
For you as a buyer or seller, what that regional pattern says is that thoughtful zoning is coming across the Piedmont, not just in Greensboro. If you are shopping Alamance, Yadkin, or Randolph, the same conversation is happening at your county level. Your Greensboro market data and your High Point market view should both reflect these zoning conversations for the next twelve to eighteen months.
What to do this week if you are actively buying or selling
If you are actively touring Greensboro or High Point homes near any of the sites in Table 1, ask three practical questions before you write. First, what is the current permitted status of the nearest facility, and when was the last approval action recorded? Second, does the site plan on file show any future substation, transmission easement, or expansion phase? Third, does the property line of the home you are touring share a boundary with any zoning district that would allow a data center under existing rules? These are questions the Realty ONE Group Results team pulls answers to before the showing, not after the offer.
If you are selling, the answer is the same on the other side. A short factual disclosure and a one-page site-status handout for the buyer is worth vastly more than silence. Buyers who feel informed pay list price. Buyers who feel surprised counter down. And if you are early in the process, the Buyer Match Method pre-tour worksheet you can fill out at your own pace includes a proximity question specifically for large infrastructure sites.
The property-tax side of the Guilford County conversation is a related but separate story. If you have not yet read the Guilford County SB 889 property tax freeze guide, that piece is required reading for anyone closing on a Guilford home this fall or in 2027.
Buying or selling a Guilford County home near one of these sites?
A data-center site next door is a real question, not a marketing objection. The right answer is a site-status pull, a distance and buffer map, and a factual conversation before the offer is written. Whether you are shopping East Greensboro near Gateway Research Park, High Point near Piedmont Parkway, or anywhere else in the Triad, get the pre-showing infrastructure briefing before you tour.
Call or text: 336-262-3111
Email: teresatedder@gmail.com
Teresa Overcash, Broker/Owner, Realty ONE Group Results. 30 years in North Carolina real estate. 10,000+ NC closings. Serving the Triad, Wilkes County, and the NC High Country with access to 4 MLS systems and a national network of 22,000+ agents.
Frequently asked questions
What did Greensboro City Council decide on data centers?
On August 18, 2026, Greensboro City Council voted 8-0 with one recusal to enact a 180-day moratorium on any proposed data center development exceeding 10 megawatts of electrical power demand. The pause runs through February 14, 2027 and gives city staff time to study grid, water, noise, and land-use impacts before writing new zoning rules. The moratorium does not ban data centers, and it does not apply to any project already permitted or under construction.
When does the 180-day moratorium end?
The moratorium sunsets on Sunday, February 14, 2027. Between now and then, Greensboro city staff and the Zoning Commission will hold work sessions and public hearings, draft Land Development Ordinance amendments, and return to City Council for final adoption. If the council needs more time, it can extend, but state law limits how long a municipality can pause any land use, so any extension has a legal ceiling.
Are existing data centers in Guilford County affected?
No. The pause applies only to acceptance, processing, and approval of new development applications for data centers above the 10-megawatt threshold. Every existing small colocation facility inside Greensboro city limits is under 10 megawatts and continues to operate as normal. The permitted ImpactData Dream Center at Gateway Research Park is grandfathered under its 2022 approval and its 2025 Raeden joint venture agreements.
How close is my home to a Greensboro data center?
Most Greensboro homes are more than a mile from any operational data center. The small existing colocation facilities are clustered inside industrial and commercial parks near I-40 and I-85 and are effectively invisible from a residential street. The two large projects on the map are the ImpactData Dream Center at 2901 East Gate City Boulevard at Gateway Research Park South, which sits on NC A&T land in East Greensboro, and the proposed DC BLOX site at 4131 Sheraton Court in High Point, near Piedmont Parkway. If you want to know your specific address, call and the team will pull the parcel map for you.
Do data centers hurt property values?
The peer-reviewed research is mixed and depends heavily on distance, screening, and cooling technology. Homes directly abutting a large above-ground substation or a facility with air-cooled chillers can see softer resale performance because of noise and sight lines. Homes more than a half mile away, or homes with mature tree buffer and topography between them and the site, generally show no measurable price effect. The larger risk in Guilford County is not the facility itself, it is the future substation expansion Duke Energy has to build to feed it.
What noise levels do data centers produce?
A modern data center runs continuous mechanical cooling. Air-cooled facilities produce a steady low-frequency hum measured at 55 to 70 decibels at the property line, comparable to a quiet dishwasher heard from an adjacent yard. Newer builds like the Raeden design use direct-to-chip liquid cooling, which is significantly quieter. The Greensboro moratorium was pushed in part by neighbors of proposed sites who raised noise as a top concern, and the new Land Development Ordinance is expected to set a decibel cap at the property line.
Can I still buy near a data center that is already approved?
Yes. Nothing about the moratorium changes your right to buy, sell, or finance a home near the Dream Center site or any small colocation facility. If you are touring East Greensboro homes near Gateway Research Park, ask your agent to pull the site plan and the traffic study before you write. If you are touring High Point homes near Piedmont Parkway, ask about the DC BLOX status because that project is still in the proposed phase and has not broken ground.
What happens after February 14, 2027?
One of three things. First, City Council adopts new Land Development Ordinance amendments that set specific requirements for large data centers, and applications resume under the new rules. Second, the council extends the moratorium if the study is not complete. Third, the council allows the moratorium to sunset with no new rules, and applications resume under the current zoning code. The most likely outcome, based on public statements from the mayor and staff, is a targeted ordinance update focused on power, water, noise, and setback standards.
About the author. Teresa Overcash is Broker in Charge and Owner of Realty ONE Group Results, an NCREC Licensed Instructor (ncrec-cooccurrence-2026-05-04-marker-hidden), and CLHMS certified luxury broker with 30 years in North Carolina real estate and over 10,000 NC closings. Realty ONE Group Results serves the Triad, Wilkes County, and the NC High Country with access to 4 MLS systems and a network of over 22,000 agents nationwide. She still sells, still coaches, and still answers her phone at 336-262-3111.
Sources. Vote count, moratorium duration, and 10 MW threshold from the City of Greensboro press release, August 18, 2026. Formal-process start and 120-day origin from the City of Greensboro press release, August 3, 2026. Public hearing summary and Alamance one-year context from Yahoo News wire coverage. Winston-Salem Journal coverage from journalnow.com, August 19, 2026. State-law constraint on outright municipal bans from ABC45 August 5 preview. Randolph County parallel ordinance action from Blue Ridge Public Radio, August 4, 2026. Alamance six-month and Yadkin one-year regional context from WHQR, August 14, 2026. DC BLOX site details from the High Point EDC press release, May 5, 2021 and Data Center Dynamics coverage. Dream Center original 9 MW plan from Data Center Dynamics, August 17, 2022. Current Dream Center 20 MW / 100 MW+ specification from Raeden July 2025 project overview and Gateway Research Park Feb 18, 2025 JV announcement. Guilford operational facility list from More Than Just Parks NC data center tracker and Data Center Map Greensboro directory.