HILLSBORO, Texas (KXXV) — Nexus Data Center withdraws from tax incentives for a proposed data center in Hill County. But the facility is still moving forward — even though some local residents tell me the project will cause more harm than good.
- Nexus announced the opening of the Hill County data center November in 2025
- Judge Brassell said the county is limited on what they can do since Nexus already purchased the land.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“What nefarious thing are they going to come up with next? They don’t tell the truth," said Linda Pauley, a local resident.
Linda Pauley stood in front of the Hill County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, expressing her concerns about plans for Nexus to build a new data center being just outside the Hubbard city limits.
Even after hearing Nexus is pulling out of its tax break deals with Hill County, she said it doesn’t erase the damage the data center could still cause to people living in our community.
“The fact that the noise that this data center generates…what is that going to do with those poor people that live maybe two miles from this data center?," said Pauley.
Nexus still plans on building a data center off of Highway 171, which it announced in November.
Hill County Judge Shane Brassell said the county became aware of the project after Nexus stated it had purchased 400 acres of land in the area.
But he said Nexus came back and told the county it actually purchased about 3,000 acres of land.
There is an article online stating Nexus, Hubbard, and Hill County have a community partnership -- which will, quote: "strengthen local infrastructure, improve quality of life, and create lasting economic opportunity for Hubbard and Hill County residents."
But Judge Brassell said that just isn’t true — and Hill County Commissioner Jim Holcomb for Precinct 1 said Nexus didn’t give a reason for pulling out of the tax deal.
“Mixed emotions because it’s very complex. The impact on the MNO rate and the non-revenue rate for taxes, it changes the landscape significantly. And there are a lot of variables that are completely unknown," said Jim Holcomb, Hill County Commissioner for Precinct 1.
Commissioner Holcomb said there were benefits to the tax breaks...and the county has been going back and forth with the data center on an agreement.
“Our hope was to mitigate the impact on the surrounding communities and try to balance that with an economic benefit that would benefit the taxpayers in the county," said Holcomb.
But Pauley said the aftermath of the data center's arrival will cost residents more than just money.
“Extreme asthma, there’s been heart conditions, all of these things take a toll. When they come, and they dangle that dollar in front of you, how much is that dollar worth for you to sell your soul to the devil?" said Pauley.
25 News reached out to Nexus for a comment late Tuesday morning, but has not yet received a response.
