Natelli Investments Data Center, Henderson, North Carolina

The Vance County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 on April 20, 2026, at a special meeting, to rezone a 40-acre parcel on US-158 Business near Henderson, Vance County, North Carolina, potentially clearing the way for a data center there from developer Natelli Investments. The county planning board had approved the rezoning unanimously in March, and commissioners postponed a decision at their April 6 meeting before approving it two weeks later; Natelli has not said what it will build and has not confirmed the rezoning is for a data center.

At the meeting, one resident shouted, "You just sold out. I'm leaving. I'm leaving. But shame on all of you and every single one of you up here," drawing applause from other attendees. When another resident asked commissioners to say who cast the lone vote against the rezoning, the board declined, calling it not "appropriate." Natelli Investments pulled out of a much larger project the month before, withdrawing its 250 megawatt New Hill Digital Campus in Apex, beside the Shearon Harris nuclear plant, after opposition from residents and the town government.

Little is known about Natelli Investments LLC beyond its link to Natelli Communities, a developer of residential and commercial property in the Southeast. Residents later raised their concerns about the Henderson-area proposal, along with drought and data center water use, at a rural listening session Governor Josh Stein's office held in Henderson on April 29. Whatever Natelli proposes next will still need separate permitting approval from Vance County.