Project Rita Campus data center, Tyrone, Georgia

Project Rita, the Microsoft data center approved in March 2024 for the town of Tyrone in Fayette County, Georgia, still has no construction application: as of June 2, 2026, Microsoft had filed no site plan, land disturbance permit or building permit, the town says. Two years after the approval, residents have begun to push back, asking the town for independent studies and a moratorium on future data centers.

The Fayette County Development Authority brought the project to Tyrone, asking the town to annex 145.5 acres of undeveloped land and rezone it to Business Technology Park for two one-story data center buildings totaling 490,000 square feet, an on-site substation and 96 megawatts. The site lies west of Georgia Highway 74, between Kirkley Road and the Fairburn city limit on the Fulton County line. Of 161 acres planned, about 147 are within Tyrone and the rest in Fulton County. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Feb. 22, 2024, and the Town Council held its hearing on March 21 and approved the rezoning on March 28, 2024. Microsoft estimates the campus will use about 4,000 gallons of water a day once it is running, and the town says Microsoft did not request, and was not offered, a tax abatement.

More than 12 residents spoke against the project at the Town Council meeting on May 21, 2026. "My husband and I begged the council to wait, do more research, learn lessons from QTS, but here we are," said resident Molly Larson, listing concerns from power and water use to noise, drainage, wetlands and oversight. Hannah Schilsky, who said transmission lines along Graves Road led her to sell her home, told the council: "I am not against progress, but if Georgia Power is going to do what they want without any oversight, I would extremely recommend putting a moratorium on data centers." Mayor Eric Dial defended the 2024 decision, saying the Highway 74 corridor had long been planned for business technology park zoning: "If we stablish this long-term land use plan and then deny a rezoning, it is highly likely that if sued, we would have a limited defense." "Many residents said they did not fully understand the scope, scale, or intended use of this project until the public hearings were underway," resident La'Shawn Dudley said at the July 16 council meeting. Officials noted the site is in a groundwater recharge area, as is most of northwest Fayette County.

The town says it cannot revoke the zoning, because legal rights vested with the approval. Tyrone's Business Technology Park rules cap each building at 300,000 square feet, and staff presented a comparison of Georgia data center ordinances to the Town Council on Aug. 6, 2026. Nearby in Fayetteville, where QTS is developing a data center campus, Fayette County said in May 2026 that QTS's water use over the past year was less than 1% of the county water system's production and permitted capacity.

What happens next depends on Microsoft. "They have not indicated a timeframe," Assistant Town Manager Phillip Trocquet said in July when asked when the company would submit engineering plans. When it does, the site plan and architectural review will come before the Tyrone Planning Commission in a public meeting, and the Town Council will not vote again unless Microsoft seeks substantive changes to its plan. Water service is decided by the Fayette County Water System, not the town.