Data centers in Pope County, Arkansas: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Russellville has paused new data centers until January 16, 2027. On July 16, 2026 the City Council voted 6-2 to stop accepting and approving data center applications for six months while an ad hoc committee writes rules for them. No large data center has been proposed in Pope County, and none of the five announced in Arkansas by May 2026 is here.

Council Member Justin Keller first proposed 18 months, then agreed to six. "The only thing we have set in stone as a community is, 'Are they too noisy?'" he said. Data centers are already allowed in the city's two industrial zones with a special-use permit, which the Planning Commission grants without a council vote. Chris Olson and Laura Wetzel voted no; Olson said a moratorium "seems a little extreme" and suggested requiring a special-use permit instead. Mayor Fred Teague said the council could lift the pause early if the committee finishes sooner.

The one data center building in the county is an older telephone company facility at 214 S. Denver Avenue in Russellville, built in 2000 for CenturyLink, whose local business is now Brightspeed; it was offered for sale with a 20-year lease. Next door in Johnson County, Serverfarm is building a $6.6 billion campus in Clarksville.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.