Amazon Web Services data center campus, Madison and St. Clair townships
Butler County, OHDeveloper: Amazon (AWS)
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
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.
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]
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
Cite this page
Last updated Sep 24, 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, Sep 24, 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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