In Page, the fight over a proposed 1-gigawatt data center is turning into a full-on desert showdown. The City Council has signed off on a land-sale deal for roughly 500 acres on the town's southwest edge, and critics say a hyperscale campus could swamp this tourism-dependent community with noise, bright lights, huge power needs and heavy water use right next to Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell. Supporters counter that the project could finally diversify Page's economy and bring in steady, big-city levels of revenue.
What the council actually authorized
On Oct. 22, 2025, the City Council passed Ordinance 744-25, clearing the way for a negotiated land-sale agreement and opening a formal feasibility period. That agreement lets the developer scout and evaluate potential sites within the roughly 500-acre footprint. It does not actually approve a data center, zoning changes, utility hookups or any construction.
The ordinance locks in a price of $14,000 per acre, ties the deal to performance milestones and gives the city the right to repurchase the land if the developer fails to meet those conditions. A preliminary city analysis projects more than $10 million a year in revenue once a facility is fully built out. City officials also stress that they have not committed any municipal water or power to the project, according to the City of Page.
Who’s behind the plan
Public filings and industry reporting tie the buyer to a company called Huntley LLC, which is linked to UK real estate interests and a developer known as Rooskey, with Arup listed as an engineering partner. Those same records put the land price at about $7 million and describe a potential campus build of roughly 1 gigawatt that, paired with on-site energy work, could represent as much as $10 billion in investment. Data Center Dynamics reviewed the documents and early project outlines.
Residents push back
Opposition in Page formed quickly. An online petition against the project has gathered more than 1,400 signatures, and organizers tried to force a referendum so voters could decide the land sale themselves. The city clerk ultimately tossed out that citizen challenge over paperwork errors, a procedural move that opponents say only deepened mistrust of local leaders.
“People are feeling kind of cheated, or like it was a petty loss,” organizer Beth Henshaw told KNAU. The petition itself is publicly available on Change.org.
Water, tourism and local worries
Many residents and business owners argue that Page's lifeblood is tourism and that its limited water supplies cannot absorb a massive data campus. They point to potential impacts from around-the-clock lighting, industrial noise and the sheer resource load of a 1-gigawatt facility.
City officials, for their part, say there is no approval for the data center to tap Lake Powell or municipal water. Under the terms officials have outlined, the developer would have to prove it has a lawful and sustainable water source before any final sign-off. Still, community members including Shelby Statham told reporters they do not buy verbal assurances that overall water use will be “net zero,” according to KSL NewsRadio.
Separate reporting notes that the agreement requires the developer to secure its own water and power and to consider closed-loop cooling systems to limit consumption. The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting reviewed those terms.
Next steps and what to watch
For now, the land-sale agreement only kicks off a feasibility period. Before any data center could rise from the desert, the project would still need zoning changes, environmental reviews, utility studies and public hearings. The contract ties the land deal to a series of progress benchmarks and gives the city room to walk away or buy the property back if the buyer falls short.
Page's fight is unfolding against a larger statewide trend. Arizona has become one of the country's top markets for data center growth, and that surge is already fueling contentious zoning battles across northern Arizona, according to AZBEX.
