Amazon Web Services data center campus, Madison and St. Clair townships
Butler County, OHDeveloper: Amazon (AWS)
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
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Amazon Web Services is targeting a 601-acre property split between Madison and St. Clair townships in Butler County for a proposed 18-building data center campus, which the Cincinnati Business Courier, via Local 12, describes as a $5 billion proposal. Both townships rejected the City of Trenton's petition to annex the land in August 2026, and Trenton withdrew the petition in September 2026, a day before a scheduled Butler County commissioners' hearing. The Journal-News reports it as a separate, larger AWS project from the four-building campus under construction in Trenton.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Site size | 601 acres [5] Local 12/Business Courier also says 601 acres; WVXU and the Journal-News say about 600 acres; WYSO/WVXU says Madison Township owns 243 acres of the land and St. Clair Township controls 358 of the 600 acres Source excerpt“The 601-acre property is split between Madison Township and St. Clair Township.” |
|---|---|
| Buildings | 18 [5] Madison Township's trustee president said he had not seen any drawings of the 18 buildings (WYSO) Source excerpt“The land is being targeted for a proposed 18-building Amazon Web Services data center campus.” |
| Stated investment | $5 billion [4] as reported by the Cincinnati Business Courier via Local 12 Source excerpt“A tangle of scenarios is unfolding in Butler County over a $5 billion data center proposal from Amazon Web Services, planned on 601 acres in Madison and St. Clair townships currently up for annexation into the city of Trenton.” |
How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.
Money & incentives
| Payments / community benefits | Amazon offered Madison and St. Clair townships $5 million each [3] offer reported by WVXU; terms not detailed Source excerpt“Amazon offered both townships $5 million each.” |
|---|
Local decisions & site
| Deciding vote | Madison Township trustees voted unanimously to reject Trenton's annexation petition; St. Clair Township also rejected it (August 2026) [3]Source excerpt“Madison Township trustees voted unanimously Monday night to reject Trenton's annexation petition.” |
|---|---|
| Zoning | Madison Township land is under Butler County zoning, which has a data center moratorium; St. Clair Township has temporarily restricted large-scale data center development [5] WVXU reports St. Clair has its own zoning resolution and enacted a 12-month data center moratorium in May Source excerpt“Madison Township has zoning controlled by Butler County, which has a moratorium on data centers. St. Clair Township also has a temporary restriction on large-scale data center development.” |
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.
Power
Not disclosed. No capacity or power-supply figure is on the record.
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Timeline
St. Clair Township enacts a 12-month moratorium on data centers [6]
Butler County enacts a six-month data center moratorium covering Madison and five other townships [6]
Trenton City Council tables a vote on annexing 600 acres from St. Clair and Madison townships [1]
Madison Township trustees vote unanimously to reject Trenton's annexation petition [3]
St. Clair Township also rejects the annexation [3]
Trenton's city attorney notifies Butler County that the city is withdrawing the annexation petition, effective immediately [6]
The withdrawal comes one day before a scheduled Butler County Board of Commissioners public hearing on the annexation [5]
Butler County commissioners accept the withdrawal [5]
AWS holds a community meeting at Edgewood Middle School in Trenton; residents ask about water, workforce, power and backup generators [8]
Trenton voters pass Issue 17, barring data centers over 25 MW in city limits, with about 80% (unofficial results, not yet certified); WVXU says it blocks plans for Trenton to annex land for a 1,000 MW Amazon data center [9]
Issues raised
- The annexation petition was filed by Trenton with Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky, Watson Gravel Inc. and Daniel and Kyle Rapier; the withdrawal notice reserves the right to refile, and WCPO reports: "The petitioners are asking commissioners to move the hearing to a regular meeting on or after Nov. 10." [5][6]
- WVXU: "Now, Ziepfel indicated Trenton wants to revisit the annexation after the Nov. 3 election." Trenton voters decide Nov. 3 on a charter ban on data centers over 25 megawatts [6][7]
- WVXU reports AWS could instead pursue the site through Madison and St. Clair townships without annexation; for Madison Township, the decision would rest with the Butler County Commission [6]
- Madison Township officials cite concerns about noise, stormwater runoff, appearance and road maintenance, and said they were not contacted directly when Trenton began the annexation process [3][5]
- The Business Courier, via Local 12, reports the city forecasts nearly $10 million in annual tax revenue at full buildout starting in 2033, with the city and townships competing for that revenue [4]
- Trenton Mayor Ryan Perry said in July 2026 that Amazon Web Services could build on the land [1]
- The Journal-News reports this separately from the four-building AWS campus under construction on 141 acres within Trenton: "Another larger AWS project is in the works, with plans to build 18 buildings on about 600 acres in Madison and St. Clair townships." [7]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Trenton approves 15-year tax abatement for data centerWVXU · Jul 9, 2026 · news
- Data center in Trenton spurs transparency concernsWVXU · Aug 11, 2026 · news
- Madison Township denies data center annexation request from TrentonWYSO (WVXU story) · Aug 25, 2026 · news
- $5B Amazon project pits city against townshipsLocal 12 (WKRC), via Cincinnati Business Courier · Sep 12, 2026 · news
- Public hearing canceled after Trenton withdraws annexation petition for proposed Amazon data centerWCPO · Sep 15, 2026 · news
- Trenton withdraws request to annex land for data center. What's next?WVXU · Sep 15, 2026 · news
- Trenton voters will decide on a data center ban: Election 2026Journal-News · Sep 18, 2026 · news
- Amazon Web Services meets with Trenton residents ahead of data center voteFOX19 · Oct 16, 2026 · news
- Trenton votes to ban data centersWVXU · Nov 3, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Nov 5, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). Amazon Web Services data center campus, Madison and St. Clair townships. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/aws-madison-st-clair-townships-butler-county-oh |
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| MLA | “Amazon Web Services data center campus, Madison and St. Clair townships.” Data Center Census, Nov 5, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/aws-madison-st-clair-townships-butler-county-oh. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/aws-madison-st-clair-townships-butler-county-oh |
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