A horse grazes in the field at Diamond Farms on Robertsville Road south of Gray Summit on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. L.B. Eckelkamp, Jr., owner of Diamond Farms and CEO of the Franklin County-based Bank of Washington, requested Franklin County rezone the Diamond Farms land to accommodate plans to build a data center.
ST. LOUIS — Amid vocal public opposition, a Franklin County businessman is defending a major data center project planned for hundreds of acres of land his family owns near Interstate 44 at Gray Summit.
A crowd of about 850 people listen as Roman Pacewicz addresses Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission in the gym at Union High School on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Pacewicz spoke in favor of the proposed data center at Diamond Farms in Franklin County, but the crowd on hand spoke overwhelmingly against the two proposed data centers that developers want to build.
Mayor Sam Richards says he hopes the development agreement with CRG can be approved at a special City Council meeting March 30. An opponent ca…
A horse grazes in the field at Diamond Farms on Robertsville Road south of Gray Summit on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. L.B. Eckelkamp, Jr., owner of Diamond Farms and CEO of the Franklin County-based Bank of Washington, requested Franklin County rezone the Diamond Farms land to accommodate plans to build a data center.
A crowd of about 850 people listen as Roman Pacewicz addresses Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission in the gym at Union High School on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Pacewicz spoke in favor of the proposed data center at Diamond Farms in Franklin County, but the crowd on hand spoke overwhelmingly against the two proposed data centers that developers want to build.
