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Data centers in Buchanan County, Missouri: 1 project mapped
The only data center proposal tracked in Buchanan County, Missouri, a four-building campus on Southeast Pickett Road on the edge of St. Joseph, was withdrawn in June 2026 after weeks of public opposition, and the city has since paused all new data center applications for a year.
Capstone Technology Campus, a company owned by local businessman Steve Craig, had asked St. Joseph to annex a 130-acre parcel at 6321 Pickett Road and to rezone that parcel and 5701 Pickett Road for the project, DatacenterDynamics and KQ2 reported. At a May 27, 2026 city council hearing on the annexation, most speakers objected to the lack of information about how the land would be used. Once the city confirmed that the intended user was a data center, known as STJ Data Center LLC, opposition grew. "In the research I've done, it shows it can affect water quality and water quantities a lot," resident Brandon Strain told KQ2 in June. Project leaders said the campus would employ up to 200 people. According to a draft city fact sheet cited by DatacenterDynamics, the data center would have been developed by Atmosphere Data Centers, and the draft site plan showed four buildings and a substation. Two petitions against the project had gathered more than 720 and 1,500 signatures.
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On June 26, 2026, Craig withdrew both the annexation and rezoning applications before the Planning Commission could take them up at its July 23 meeting. "We thought that while this debate is going on and underway, we would pause the situation and evaluate other options as well," Craig told KQ2. The city also canceled a July 16 town hall with the developer and utility providers and said any future proposal would require new applications.
On July 20, 2026, the St. Joseph City Council voted 8-0 for an emergency ordinance suspending new data center projects for 12 months, a length proposed by council member Gary Wilkinson. During the pause, retained experts are to recommend zoning standards, infrastructure considerations, operational requirements and community benefit expectations. Many residents had asked for an 18-month moratorium. "We prefer 18 months, obviously, but 12 months we're overjoyed," said resident Conni Muff, who told KQ2 the concerns all along had been "our water, our electricity, the noise pollution and the light pollution." On August 17, 2026, the council voted 3-6 against a resolution from council member Russell Moore to create a citizens data center advisory committee; Moore, Wilkinson and Collin Clibon voted for it, and Mayor Larry Miller and five council members voted against. Council member Randy Schultz said the council should "take this on ourselves," and KQ2 reported that the opposition group was "shocked and angry" at the outcome.
Data center projects on record in Buchanan County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Elsewhere in Buchanan County1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STJ Data Center | Capstone Technology Campus LLC (Atmosphere Data Centers) | Withdrawn | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Moratoriums and bans in effect
Pauses on new data centers covering this area.
| Place | Type | Started | Ends | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. JosephTown or city | Moratorium | Jul 20, 2026 | Jul 20, 2027 | Record off site ↗ |
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.