OCALA, FL (352today.com) – On Monday, August 24, 2026, a former St. Johns River Water Management District official told a citizen’s data center workshop that a Marion County landowner is in talks with an AI data-center interest. While 352Today has so far been unable confirm that claim, here is what was said.
Bruce Kaster, an attorney based in Ocala and a longtime member of the Florida Defenders of the Environment, was asked by an attendee “whether any companies or corporations have anything on the books that they want to build in Marion County.” He responded by saying, “I know there’s one application. There’s one landowner who wants to put an AI center on his property, and they’re talking to it. I can’t tell you more than that, but I can tell you I know there’s a landowner that the AI data center is talking to about putting in Marion County right now.”
When asked about the size of the data center, Kaster said: “I really can’t discuss the details of that. I got that confidential information from a lawyer.”
Kaster did not name the owner, the company, the parcel, or the acreage.
Two newly elected Marion County commissioners, Mike Crimi and Jeff Bairstow, were in the room. They did not confirm Kaster’s account and did not discuss data centers in front of each other.
County commissioners have said publicly that they are not reviewing an active data center application. An official board workshop to explore potential local rules on data center construction is scheduled for 2 p.m. September 21, 2026, at the McPherson Governmental Campus. Commission Chair Carl Zalak III has said that, under current rules, a data center in unincorporated Marion would be limited to industrial land with a special-use permit.
Former Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn was in attendance on Monday and spoke about some of the potentially positive economic impacts that a data center could bring to Marion County, particularly in terms of new jobs.
“They train people to work in the data centers in the high schools,” Guinn said. “What if they had, you know, two to three hundred jobs, full-time jobs, and paid them $100,000 a year?”
Attendees questioned the practicality and sustainability of such jobs as the workshop discussion continued. Speakers and residents argued that many data centers are highly automated after construction, that specialized operations roles are not entry-level high-school pipelines, and that some facilities can be run remotely.
The workshop focused heavily on water use and aquifer stress, including declining spring flows and concerns that Marion County is already over-permitted. Speakers from Citrus County urged Marion residents to meet commissioners one-on-one before any application turns quasi-judicial. A land planner advised residents to read the comprehensive plan and land development code, arguing that denials must rest on competent, substantial evidence rather than emotion alone. Noise, backup generators, light pollution, and long-term health effects were also raised.
As of this reporting, 352Today has not confirmed any active AI data-center application, landowner agreement, named developer, or specific site in Marion County. The next official step remains the Board of County Commissioners workshop on September 21, 2026.
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the date of the Marion County Board of County Commissioners data center workshop as September 1. That original date had been changed; the actual date is Sept. 21. 352Today regrets the error.)