Judge Graham Reports ‘No Audible Noise’ at Garland Data Centers
Young County Judge Win Graham said he toured two data centers in Garland earlier this month to better understand what a similar facility might mean for Young County. He began at an apartment complex surrounded on three sides by data centers— with another facility under construction across the street—and said he could not hear any noise from any of the buildings while on the apartment grounds. Several residents he spoke with were unaware of what the large windowless structures contained, and none reported experiencing noise or vibration.
Within a quarter-mile of one of the centers were a hospital, Montessori school, retirement community, church, apartment complex, and townhome community. Judge Graham said he walked the parking lots of each and still heard no audible industrial noise.
He toured both an older and a newer data center. At the older one, chillers were placed at ground level with no sound walls, yet sound dissipated completely at roughly 50 yards. The newer facility had rooftop chillers, which were not audible from the ground but could be heard while standing on the roof during the tour. All backup generators were stored in sound-deadening enclosures, and he reported no buzzing, a concern frequently raised in Young County discussions. He encouraged residents to visit the Garland center at 1813 Lookout Drive to assess the noise environment firsthand.
Inside, Judge Graham said the centers housed “cables, computers, cooling equipment, and employees,” and he described the exterior landscaping as “attractive for a commercial property.” Stream’s executive vice president, who led the tour, told him that if the company builds in Young County, it would space buildings farther apart, include large green buffers, and engineer the campus to be quieter than what is required in more densely populated areas like Garland.
Judge Graham addressed residents’ concerns about the size of the project, emphasizing that the proposed 850acre footprint represents only one-tenth of one percent of Young County’s total land area, calling it “nearly negligible.” According to projections shared with him, that small parcel could ultimately generate 87–93 percent of the county’s taxable value - now about $1.78 billion - significantly broadening the county’s tax base.
He also noted that county officials did not choose the Young County location. “We attempted to direct them toward other, more remote parcels,” he said. “Stream specifically selected this site because of the two high-voltage transmission lines,” which they said would provide the reliability necessary for continuous operation.
National Context
Communities across the country are raising concerns similar to those in Young County. In states including Virginia, Oregon, California, Iowa, and Kansas, residents have pushed back against large data centers over noise, water use, diesel emissions, loss of farmland, increased electrical demand, and potential impacts on property values. Some counties have even enacted temporary moratoriums to study the effects on infrastructure and rural character.
Out West, opposition centers on water use in drought-prone regions.