The Hixson Data Center is moving forward with plans to bring a 25-megawatt AI-focused campus to McMinnville, Tennessee, targeting a tenant-ready date of Q1 2028 and positioning itself as a purpose-built alternative to hyperscale cloud regions and boutique edge facilities.

A Campus Designed Around AI Density

Located in Warren County, the Hixson Data Center is described by its developers as a medium-scale, high-density GPU campus built specifically for artificial intelligence workloads.

The facility is designed around the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 rack architecture, with AI rack power density set at 132 kVA per rack. Network and storage racks are rated at 22 kVA.

The building itself is planned as a two-level structure totaling approximately 96,064 square feet, offering 25 megawatts of sellable IT output configured for single-tenant occupancy.

The project is led by Managing Principal Ray Hixson and Director of Development Alex Hixson. Engineering firm Fluor Corporation has completed a FEED study and a Class 5 cost estimate for the project.

Other partners named include Bloom Energy, FlexGen, S&ME, Stowers Cat, Ben Lomand, and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas.

Grid-Islanded Power Architecture

One of the facility's central design choices is its decision to operate entirely off the public utility grid.

The campus is built around a Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cell system with a nameplate capacity of 33.15 megawatts and a guaranteed output of 30 megawatts.

This is supplemented by a 25-megawatt battery energy storage system supplied by FlexGen, and tertiary generation provided by eight Caterpillar diesel generators, each rated at 4.4 megawatts continuous output at 13.8 kilovolts, supplied through Stowers Cat.

Natural gas supply for the fuel cell system is being handled by Middle Tennessee Natural Gas. The grid-islanded architecture is presented as a hedge against the lengthening utility interconnection timelines that developers say are being driven by regional power demand growth.

By eliminating reliance on a utility intertie, the project aims to reduce schedule dependence on grid infrastructure upgrades.

The medium-voltage distribution concept runs at 13.8 kilovolts with ring-bus routing and closed-transition switching.

IT power delivery is designed as dual-corded with a 1,250-amp busway basis, and power distribution units are rated at 2,000 kVA stepping down from 480 to 415 and 240 volts.

A central uninterruptible power supply is included in the concept design. The facility is designed for 24/7 continuous operation with N+1 or higher redundancy across systems.

Liquid Cooling and Efficiency Targets

To manage the thermal demands of high-density GPU hardware, Hixson has designed the facility around direct-to-chip liquid cooling delivered through coolant distribution units using a 25 percent propylene glycol solution.

This is paired with chilled-water air handling units, hot aisle containment, and economizer heat exchangers.

The facility's power usage effectiveness design target is 1.15, a figure developers attribute to the purpose-built cooling architecture rather than a retrofit of existing infrastructure.

Connectivity and Network Access

The McMinnville site connects to major network hubs through a regional fiber provider, Ben Lomand, with points of presence in Nashville, two locations in Atlanta, and Ashburn, Virginia. Dual connectivity into multiple top-tier global networks is included across those points of presence.

The developers report typical round-trip latency figures for ICMP ping to provider points of presence as approximately five milliseconds to Nashville, six milliseconds to Atlanta, and 23 milliseconds to Ashburn, Virginia.

Site and Jurisdictional Advantages

The land for the project is already owned by the development team, which the company says eliminates land acquisition risk and removes associated timeline uncertainty.

The site is industrially zoned with adjacency to transportation corridors and a railroad spur. Developers point to Tennessee's tax environment as a competitive advantage, citing the absence of a state personal income tax, competitive franchise and excise tax rates, and relief provisions introduced through the Tennessee Works Tax Act.

They also note that land and construction costs in Tennessee are lower than in primary data center markets, including Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Phoenix.

Security and Compliance Planning

Security infrastructure planned for the facility includes a controlled perimeter with security fencing, controlled site gates with remote access, a guard shack and campus entrance security, a lobby and security area with a secure corridor, and a dedicated security operations center within the building program.

Surveillance through closed-circuit television and card access systems is also included in scope.

On the compliance side, the project has identified several planned certifications for its operating phase, including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and alignment with the NIST cybersecurity framework. Readiness for export-controlled workloads under an ITAR-style framework is listed as a planned option.

The facility's design references International Building Codes, Uptime Institute guidelines, and ASHRAE standards.

Fire and safety systems in the design include a building management and SCADA room with electrical power monitoring, fire alarm, and aspirating smoke detection using VESDA technology, both wet and pre-action sprinkler systems, and a battery safety pathway compliant with NFPA 855 and UL 9540A.

Project Timeline and Current Status

The Hixson Data Center has completed site acquisition, a FEED-Lite study through Fluor Corporation, a Class 5 estimate, a Phase I environmental site assessment, and a power agreement with Bloom Energy.

The project is currently in the process of securing financing and identifying a tenant, after which it will move into detailed design, permitting, and construction before targeting commissioning and tenant readiness in the first quarter of 2028.