Festus Data Center, Festus, Missouri

CRG has won approval to build a data center on about 240 acres north of Highway 67 in Festus, Jefferson County, Missouri, on land the city annexed in November 2025. The city council approved a framework of requirements for CRG on March 30, 2026, but four Festus residents and the group Wake Up JeffCo sued the city and CRG on April 9, 2026, seeking to reverse both the rezoning and the city's contract with the developer. No end user for the data center has been identified.

The lawsuit accuses the city of holding unlawful private meetings with the developer to avoid Missouri's Sunshine Law. Attorney Steve Jeffery, who represents the plaintiffs, said officials met in small groups "so that they wouldn't have to comply with any of those Sunshine Law requirements." Mary Fakes, who lives 300 yards from the site and joined the suit, said she fears for her daughter's health if the project goes forward.

Voters had already responded. In the April 2026 city election, all four council incumbents who backed the project were defeated by candidates who ran against it, including Dan Moore, who said: "People are awake now, and we're not going to let this continue on anymore." Opponents then filed recall petitions in May against Mayor Sam Richards and three council members who backed the project, and the council rejected them.

Estimates of the project's cost have grown: officials described it in February as at least $1 billion, and by April CRG's plan was valued at $6 billion. After the June 8 council meeting, Richards said CRG had still not submitted plans or asked for permits: "We don't have any plans submitted or any permit requests." The Wake Up JeffCo lawsuit in St. Louis County Circuit Court continues, with no trial date set.