The old Walmart in Fairfield has been empty for about a decade. Now, a Missouri technology company wants to turn the boarded-up building into a 20-megawatt artificial intelligence data center — and it is moving quickly.
Patmos Hosting held a community town hall Wednesday night at the Fairfield Civic Center, where residents and others packed the room to hear from the company’s leadership and ask questions about the project. The meeting was billed as an opportunity for residents to learn more and voice concerns. But the company made clear the project is well underway.
Patmos officials say it is under contract to purchase the former Walmart property and is working on engineering and architectural plans for its permit application. They expects to submit the application by the end of August and hope to receive approval in September. Construction on an initial 20-megawatt phase could begin then.
Patmos Vice President of Strategic Growth Monica Brisimitzakis said the first phase is expected to be completed by February, with additional expansion planned for 2028. The company expects the Fairfield site to eventually reach 45 megawatts.
Is a city council vote necessary?
Patmos founder and CEO John Johnson said the property is already properly zoned, meaning the primary remaining hurdle is permitting.
“We’re in contract to purchase and develop the building,” Johnson said in an interview after the meeting. “We’re also in the permitting phase with the county to get the retrofitting plans solidified.”
He said once the permitting process is complete, Patmos plans to close on the property and announce the tenant that will occupy the facility.
A packed room — and plenty of questions
The turnout underscored the level of interest in the project. Johnson acknowledged that standing before the crowd was intimidating, but said he saw the turnout as a positive sign.
“It’s a little bit daunting to be in front of this big of a crowd, but it’s equally edifying because it shows us that you’re a community who cares what goes in its backyard, and that means so much to us,” Johnson said.
Company officials spent more than an hour answering questions about jobs, electricity, water use, noise, environmental impacts, generators, fiber connectivity, taxes, construction and community investment. The tone was not uniformly hostile. Some residents thanked city officials for bringing the company in and asked detailed questions about how Fairfield could benefit.
But there was also skepticism, particularly around whether the economic benefits would outweigh the potential environmental and infrastructure impacts.
Company leaders said the facility would have at least six infrastructure employees, two senior engineers, a site manager and an office administrator. It also would likely contract with outside security, electrical and mechanical companies.
Johnson said the company expects about 50 permanent jobs when the campus is fully developed, including employees of other technology companies that could occupy space in the building. Johnson said that is part of what distinguishes Patmos from a conventional data center.
“We’re not just building the AI campus, but we’re building an entire technology campus, which means a sizable portion of this building will be dedicated to welcoming businesses of all shapes and sizes in the technology realm to occupy the building as tenants, and with them will come more and more jobs as well,” Johnson said.
Construction would temporarily employ more people. According to Patmos officials, its Kansas City project employed about 120 people at the peak of construction, including electrical, mechanical and general contractors.
$150 million initial investment
The company says the initial 20-megawatt buildout will cost about $150 million and will generate significant tax revenue for Fairfield. Brisimitzakis said between the building improvements and infrastructure associated with the initial project, the property could generate more than $3 million annually in property taxes. There could also be personal property taxes from the computers and other equipment brought in by the company’s tenant.
Patmos officials said they're working with a consultant to produce a more comprehensive analysis of the project’s economic impact, which it says it intends to make public.
Electricity for the data center would come from Alabama Power. Brisimitzakis said Patmos is working with the utility to make sure the additional demand does not restrict existing residents or businesses.
“We pay market rate. We actually pay upfront capital costs to Alabama Power to make sure that they’re not taking any risk by signing with us and doing those upgrades,” Brisimitzakis said.
An Alabama Power representative told residents the utility evaluates projects to ensure they can be supported without affecting existing customers.
While one speaker at the town hall expressed concern that the electrical grid could eventually need a major expansion and potentially affect homes, Johnson said electricity availability is a prerequisite for the project.
“We can’t even start the project until that electricity is validated as present and sustainable,” he said.
Ten diesel generators
Perhaps the most pointed environmental questions involved the facility’s backup generators. Patmos said it expects to use 10 diesel generators, each capable of producing about 2.5 megawatts of power. The generators would operate during power outages and for required testing. Brisimitzakis said the company expects testing to take about 30 minutes per month.
Environmental groups generally prefer natural gas to diesel for backup generators. Brisimitzakis said the company has not yet determined whether natural gas could provide a secondary source of power.
Barbara Jackson, a grassroots organizer with the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution or G.A.S.P, asked about air-quality monitoring.
Brisimitzakis said existing monitors could measure volatile organic compounds associated with equipment, including the generators. Another member of G.A.S.P, Julianne Tharp, who spoke with WBHM after the meeting, said she remained concerned.
“I think that they are trying to put a pretty bow on an ugly package for the community,” Tharp said.
She said Fairfield already has a history of industrial pollution and that the additional generators could make things worse.
“The generators that they’re planning to use as backup emergency generators will be diesel-fueled, which are the worst kinds of generators to be supplying energy to a facility of this size because they will need multiple,” Tharp said.
Patmos promises quiet
Noise was another recurring concern. Patmos officials said they plan to spend more money on noise mitigation than a typical data center. Brisimitzakis said the generators will be equipped with additional mufflers and that the generators should produce about 72 decibels of sound from 10 feet away when operating — roughly the sound as a weed whacker.
Plans call for the loudest equipment to be inside the building. Under normal operating conditions, company leaders said noise outside the facility should be around 60 to 65 decibels.
“As far as noise goes, you’ll be able to hear a pin drop outside of that building, unless the generators are running, which is very rare," Johnson said. “You could go to one of our data centers in Kansas City right now, and go right to the sidewalk and touch the side of the building, and you cannot hear at all what’s going on inside of that building."
Water use and cooling
The data center's water use was another concern for residents who said Fairfield has experienced low water pressure. Company officials said the initial 20-megawatt facility will use about 10,000 gallons of water per day. Brisimitzakis compared that with an estimated 180,000 gallons a day used by a par-3 golf course.
She said the facility’s cooling system is designed to minimize water use. Most of the cooling water will circulate through closed-loop systems. Some water still will be lost to evaporation. Brisimitzakis said the coolant chemicals would remain inside the system and would not enter Fairfield’s wastewater system. Company leaders said its cooling design is one reason it considers itself more environmentally sustainable than many competitors.
The old Walmart gets a makeover
Patmos’ central pitch to Fairfield is simple: don’t build a massive new data center on farmland. Instead, reuse a building that has sat empty for years. Johnson said the former Walmart would be modernized, secured and surrounded by improved lighting and other infrastructure.
One resident, Sherretta Arrington Whitely, said she was less concerned about the Walmart site and more interested in improving Fairfield as a whole.
“I would like to see the city bloom in ways that will expose our youth to a safe and attractive downtown area,” Whitely said.
Johnson said the project could spur additional investment.
“We’re going to beautify the building, we’re going to renovate it, we’re going to get it working as a data hall,” he said. “But what we’ve seen in other areas is this brings in other businesses around the community. This brings in more safety, more security, better lighting.”
He said to the company’s Kansas City project has seen new development in the blocks around the data center.
Education is part of the pitch
The company said it wants to work with Fairfield City Schools, Miles College and other educational institutions to create training opportunities. Johnson said the company is considering constructing a separate building on the property specifically for that purpose.
"We are literally talking about putting a net new building in that same parking lot that would have no other purpose than to train and enable K through 12 and into the university system," Johnson said. “If they want to go somewhere else, they’re more than welcome to. They don’t have to work for Patmos. We just want to give that information back to the community."
Mayor says Patmos is different
Mayor Herman Carnes has publicly backed the project, saying he believes Patmos’ willingness to engage directly with residents distinguishes it from other companies.
After the meeting, Carnes said he had researched Patmos and was comfortable supporting the company based on what he found.
“They’re more family-oriented. It’s unheard of to have the CEO and everyone come to tell their story, right? A lot of people just send you a pitch and go about their business. They’re different. They want to hear concerns, and they’re more in tune with the community. So that’s a win for me,” Carnes said.
Carnes said the city’s approach is to determine what is in Fairfield’s long-term interest. He said he hopes Fairfield can become a national hub for artificial intelligence education.
Residents remain skeptical
For all the company’s assurances, many residents at this town hall remain unconvinced.
Janice Childs, who spoke with WBHM after the meeting, said she was impressed by the company’s preparation but still had concerns.
“I want to know how it’s affecting us in our community. Why our community? Why that Walmart?” Childs said.
Tony Forest, another Fairfield resident who spoke with WBHM, said he was still trying to determine what the city would actually gain.
“I had changed my mind this morning. I said, I really do hope this brings progress and money into the city. It might help it out,” Forest said. “I’m trying to see if it benefits the city at all.”
The skepticism was particularly evident when environmental questions came up. Residents asked repeatedly about diesel generators, noise, water pressure, power reliability, and the potential health effects of the facility.
One controversy around data center projects is when public officials sign nondisclosure agreements. Johnson said Patmos does not do that.
“We don’t sign NDAs with the city. Everybody’s free. We’re free to talk about it. That’s why we’re here. We’re free to answer your questions transparently. So there are no secrets,” he said.
Johnson assured the crowd the plans are financially sound.
“We don’t build speculatively,” Johnson said. “We come here only when there’s a client in hand, and when the math checks out as profitable, so that you have our guarantee that we’re investing in this community, not out of speculation, but out of a long-term commitment to the community.”
And he explained why Fairfield was attractive to Patmos in the first place.
“What attracted us to Fairfield is you," Johnson said. "I know that sounds a little bit campy, but after meeting you, it’s true."
A town hall with information — but not necessarily consensus
As Tharp, the GASP organizer, put it after the meeting, the gathering showed the importance of residents continuing to organize around the project.
“I think the biggest thing for people to take away from a community meeting like this, where several hundred people showed up, and dozens of people had questions, is that we are not alone in this experience and in facing this issue,” Tharp said. “It’s more important now than ever that we talk to each other, that we build community, and that’s how we build power.”
