OREGON, Ohio — As Oregon pushes ahead with its first large-scale data center, city leaders say plans are already in motion for a possible second facility — but some neighbors feel they’re paying the price for the city’s industrial growth.

Marty Czyzewski, who has called the corner of Corduroy and Wynn Road home for seven years, says he’s now preparing to leave after agreeing to sell his property to the city.

“We didn’t want to have to look at our backyard and see a data center, hear all the cooling fans,” Czyzewski said. “We were hoping this was going to be our lifelong home, stay in the house and keep my dad’s legacy going on. And we can’t do that anymore.”

In late 2024, Oregon sold 170 acres of its industrial park for $17.3 million to a site selector for the first data center. According to Mayor Mike Seferian, that same developer now has its eye on land directly across the street for an expansion.

“They just made it aware to us that they may have interest in an expansion,” Seferian said. “They’re looking to their future, and I’m always looking to our future.”

The new site could affect five houses along Wynn Road — some newly built. Seferian said the city will do what it can to help impacted homeowners but emphasized the economic stakes for the broader community.

“There are only two ways to get more revenue: raise people’s taxes, which is usually not very popular, or find new revenue streams,” Seferian said. “So, we’re always entertaining new ideas, depending on how they impact the city.”

But for families like Czyzewski’s, the city’s pitch doesn’t offset what they feel they’ve lost.

“We’re moving out of Oregon because we don’t want to have anything to do with the mayor and the council right now,” he said.

The first data center is still in its due diligence phase, including tests to confirm the power grid can handle the load. If the results check out, construction could start soon, Seferian said.

WTOL 11 reached out to the five homeowners near the proposed second site — none agreed to speak on the record.

Oregon’s data center push reflects a growing national trend as cities pursue tech infrastructure to boost local tax revenue and attract investment. Data centers often spark debate: they promise millions in new tax dollars but can create tension with nearby residents over noise, traffic, and land use.

In the Midwest, communities from Ohio to Iowa have landed major projects in recent years, spurred by demand for cloud services and AI computing.

As Oregon weighs its future, the city must balance economic goals with neighborhood impacts — a challenge that’s likely to repeat if more large industrial projects follow.

Originally reported by Steve Iwanek in WTOL 11 News.