Why Butler County is Very High risk
Score calculated from four factors: power infrastructure, water capacity, land availability, and current exposure (known projects in the county). Butler County scores 84/100.
Trenton sits on a major industrial corridor with established AEP Ohio service and direct connection to existing transmission infrastructure. Prologis has stated it will pay 100% of upgrade costs — a commitment now governed by AEP Ohio's PUCO-approved 85% billing tariff (effective July 23, 2025).
Trenton's municipal water system has confirmed existing capacity for Prologis's needs — the developer's own filings claim water cooling is required only ~3% of the year using direct evaporative-free air cooling. Wastewater discharges to Butler County for processing. No private wells affected.
141 acres of pre-zoned industrial land within Trenton city limits, purchased from the city by Prologis for $7.75 million in October 2025. Land was already zoned I-G General Industrial — meaning no rezoning vote was required, eliminating the public hearing residents were demanding.
Project Mila is a named, approved project with construction beginning fall 2026. Site work for an electric substation is already underway.
The facts, as filed.
Project Mila, explained.
When Angie Markham first heard that a data center was planned about half a mile from her home in Trenton, her first words to her husband were, "We're going to have to move." The plans, reviewed by the Dayton Daily News and Journal-News, call for a data center called Project Mila — four 220,353-square-foot buildings, one 16,150-square-foot utility building, and a 1,503-square-foot security building, totaling 899,065 square feet on 141 acres. That's the size of more than five Walmart Supercenters.
The developer, Prologis, is one of the world's largest industrial real estate firms. The San Francisco-based company purchased the 141-acre site near Kennel and Woodsdale roads from the City of Trenton for $7.75 million in October 2025. Initial groundwork and grading for an electric substation began before a single public hearing took place — and because the parcel was already zoned I-G General Industrial, no rezoning vote was ever required.
Barry Blankenship lives within a half-mile of the construction zone. He and his wife Lorie founded W.A.T.E.R. (Woodsdale and Trenton Environmental Resistance), the Facebook-based opposition group that has helped lead petition drives in Trenton. Blankenship was among 30 residents who attended the March 30 Planning Commission meeting expecting a hearing. Instead, the commission approved the site plan in under 10 minutes, with no questions taken from the public. The city's attorney, Nick Ziepfel, said a public hearing wasn't legally required because the parcel was already zoned industrial.
Prologis has made several specific claims about the project's footprint: that it will create 140 permanent jobs, generate roughly $120,000 annually in city utility fees, use water cooling only ~3% of the year through direct evaporative-free air cooling, pay for 100% of power infrastructure upgrades, and maintain noise levels comparable to a "quiet urban" area at the property line. Residents remain skeptical: as Blankenship told WCPO, "They try to say, 'Well, it's not as loud as a blender, or a lawnmower.' I don't blend food 24/7. I don't mow grass 24/7. That data center will never stop."
How we got here.
For Butler County residents.
Noise
Prologis's own filings describe the property-line noise level at peak operation as comparable to a "quiet urban" area. The company asserts that backup diesel generators will run only during testing or emergencies. What is not in dispute is that the cooling systems, HVAC stacks, and substation transformers will operate continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The site sits less than half a mile from existing homes.
Water
Prologis's adoption of direct evaporative-free air cooling is genuinely water-efficient by industry standards. The company says the system uses water only roughly 3% of the year — in the hottest summer days. That said, Trenton's water department has not published the gallons-per-day estimate during peak cooling, and any wastewater is sent to Butler County for processing. Trenton's existing water capacity is confirmed sufficient by the city; Prologis pays standard utility rates.
Electricity
Prologis says it will pay 100% of upgrade costs, and that commitment is now backed by enforceable PUCO rules: AEP Ohio's data center tariff (effective July 23, 2025) requires data center customers above 25 MW to pay for at least 85% of their subscribed monthly capacity for 12 years — whether or not they actually use it — with a 4-year ramp-up and an exit fee of three years' minimum charges. This is why Project Mila's headline cost commitments are credible in a way they would not have been two years ago.
Property values
The Markham family lives roughly half a mile from the site and has stated publicly they may have to move. Property-value research from comparable hyperscale sites (notably Mansfield, Georgia, and Prince William County, Virginia) consistently shows that homes within a half-mile of a major data center see slower sales and price softening, particularly for buyers concerned about noise and visual impact. The actual size of that effect in Trenton will depend on the as-built design and noise performance.
Reporting we relied on.
- Local12 / WKRC — March 30 Planning Commission coverage and resident reaction
- WCPO — Prologis March 2 public forum and W.A.T.E.R. signature drive
- Journal-News (Hamilton) — Butler County Commissioners moratorium request and zoning authority analysis
- Dayton Daily News — Angie Markham profile and Edgewood High School forum
- WVXU / WOSU / WYSO — Project Mila fact sheet and Prologis specifications
- GovTech — Ohio Communities Grapple With Data Center Approval Decisions
- Trenton Planning Commission filings — site plan, building specs, March 30 meeting record
Independent reporting on every Ohio proposal — sourced from local filings, council minutes, and corporate disclosures. One email when something moves in your county. No ads.