A new land purchase by Digital Realty is putting a Richmond County school community in an awkward spotlight. The deal has raised questions about what the data-center company may want to build nearby, even though the next phase of the project remains unclear.
WSOC-TV reported Wednesday that Digital Realty acquired land near a Richmond County school, prompting concern and uncertainty in the surrounding community. The purchase itself does not establish that construction is imminent, nor does it answer how the property could affect nearby school operations.
A Land Deal Is Not A Final Project
Digital Realty has been expanding its North Carolina footprint. In its first-quarter 2025 results, the company said it acquired a 48-acre parcel next to a 156-acre campus in Charlotte, along with two parcels near its uptown connectivity hub.
Charlotte's planning records show how a project can move from land acquisition into a public approval process. The city approved a rezoning petition for roughly 156 acres at 12899 Moores Chapel Road, allowing data-center and office uses after public review, according to the City of Charlotte.
That earlier Charlotte project included planned road improvements, site access changes and landscape buffers, details that help explain why large data-center land deals can attract questions from nearby residents. They are useful context, but they do not establish that the Richmond County property will follow the same design or approval path.
School Facilities Are Already A Live Issue
Richmond County Schools is already managing major facilities decisions. The district says it received a $42 million state grant for a new L.J. Bell Elementary School, with students expected to relocate during construction, while a separate district update says officials have been weighing possible changes to the county's middle-school footprint.
That backdrop makes the timing especially sensitive for families trying to understand what land around their schools may become. The district's L.J. Bell project page describes a long-term campus replacement, while its consolidation update emphasizes that studies and discussions are not the same as a final closure decision.
What Residents Will Be Watching
The most important unanswered questions are basic ones: what use Digital Realty intends for the property, whether zoning or site-plan approvals are needed, and whether the school district or local officials have received a formal proposal. Until those documents or plans become public, the land purchase is a significant signal but not a finished development story.
For now, Richmond County families are left watching two timelines at once: the district's school-construction and facilities work, and Digital Realty's next move on land that sits close enough to make the school community pay attention.
