Couple claims they bitterly regret selling land to data center developer after assuming buyer wanted to build houses

A couple in North Carolina who sold their land to a developer under the assumption that houses would take its place are up in arms after learning years later what the property will actually be used for. 

Roxanne and Tony Wright sold dozens of acres of their land to Honey Badger Development, believing that their Kings Mountain property would be developed into new homes. 

But, the couple found themselves filled with regret when three years later plans for a data center on the land emerged. 

‘[I regret selling] every day,’ Roxanne, 63,  told WJZY. ‘I do every single day.’

‘I thought they were building houses. [We] never asked and they never told us.’

‘My mother-in-law sold, and I thought I was going to have condominiums or houses and stuff right on top of us,’ Tony, 65, told the outlet. 

The land had been in their family for more than 40 years before they sold to the developer, keeping only a small family cemetery to themselves which is maintained by Tony.

‘I got my nephew down here, I got my father-in-law, I got two nephews down here,’ Tony added. 

The data center plans, however, may have hit a snag. 

Kings Mountain voters approved a six-month moratorium in February on data center projects, as the city considers more on the effects of data center development on water resources, noise and power bills. 

It remains unclear if the data center set to built on the Wright’s land will be affected by the moratorium. 

Honey Badger Development’s data center was described as a ‘beacon of technological advancement and strategic foresight.’

But the Wright’s told the outlet that the idea of their land being used for a data center is disheartening, and they wouldn’t have sold had they known.

‘It makes me sad,’ Tony said. ‘I wish we wouldn’t have sold because we were happy down here.’ 

Much more of Kings Mountain has echoed similar feelings felt across the country about data center development. 

As the six-month moratorium on data center development was voted on in February, locals expressed concerns for the rising costs in the area. 

‘Our power bill went from $150-somthing [to] now for the last two months, it’s been $500,’ resident Ann Sprouse told QC News. 

Kerry Leigh told the outlet: ‘In the last five years I’ve been here, my bill has gone from like $150 to $400. I can’t afford that.’

The moratorium had been suggested by Kings Mountain Planning Director Henry Earle. 

‘There is a great deal of unknown around this us, and it is smart and responsible of us to take the time to get this right,’ Earle said, according to the outlet. 

Out of seven councilmembers, five were in favor of the moratorium and two – Tyler Fletcher and Scott Neisler- voted against it – only to delay it, however, for just a month.

‘Put everything on the table. Let’s figure out where we’re going with this thing before we do make a mistake,’ Councilmember Jimmy West said. 

Kings Mountain is already home to a large data center, and the council weighed the the possibility for large tax revenues in their decision. 

‘Yes, I hear about the money it will bring to the city. That’s great, but what else is it going to bring?’ Councilmember Annie Thombs said. ‘We don’t know. Everything that has a dollar sign in front of it doesn’t mean it’s good.’ 

Officials said that the moratorium would not apply to existing data center projects that meet certain requirements, the outlet reported.   

The Daily Mail reached out to the City Council of Kings Mountain for comment.