Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into a landed deal underpinning planned data center in Taylor.
In a release Thursday, Paxton’s office clarified that the investigation was over land “conveyed more than 25 years ago for use as public parkland” that is now under ownership of a Delaware-based development company.
The roughly 87 acres were sold by Bonnibel Bland Cromwell and her relatives in 1999 to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation “to be held in trust for future use as parkland by Williamson County.” The land was sold for just $10.
According to the AG’s office, the property was then transferred to the City of Taylor for another $10 and eventually landed in the hands of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), a “non-profit corporation founded by the Taylor voters in 1994” which seeks to promote a “positive business climate” in the city, among other initiatives.
The TEDC website contains an entire section dedicated to data centers, including a page titled “Property Search & Community Analysis” with a list of available properties and a link at the bottom that states, “Ready to do business in Taylor?”
In April 2025, TEDC sold the land to NCP Travis TPP Project, LLC for $10 million. The land is planned to be used for Blueprint Projects Data Centers, an “independent data center platform developing greenfield data centers…” The project planned for Taylor is expected to have a capacity of 60 megawatts and will be energized by 2027.
Pamela Griffin, a long-time neighbor of the property, has sued the data center company for ownership of the land to “build a park for this community.” Griffin stated she remembers her father having a conversation with a Bland patriarch in which the man stated his plans to donate the land for a park, allegedly stating, “these kids need somewhere to play.”
Paxton’s investigation is intended to determine “whether the land may be used for the private development of a large AI data center.”
“If the investigation determines that the property is subject to a charitable trust or other restriction, Attorney General Paxton will seek court intervention to ensure the restriction is not disregarded,” stated the release.
The investigation comes as a recent poll showed that 54 percent of Texans support a local ban on data centers, while only 37 percent oppose it.
“I will not allow any person or entity to disregard the rule of law or obligations owed to the public,” stated Paxton. “If the Taylor data center development is unlawful, I will do everything in my power to stop it and hold those who have violated the law accountable.”
Blueprint Data Centers and the TEDC have not responded to a request for comment on the investigation.
