Effingham County is bringing in outside help to keep watch over a massive data center project near Savannah. County commissioners voted to hire Charles Abbott Associates to represent the county's interests and oversee Project Camellia, the planned OpenAI data center campus on about 1,400 acres, WTOC 11 reported.
What the firm will do
County leaders said Charles Abbott Associates will be their point of contact for issues at the site, such as truck traffic or construction noise, according to WTOC. The firm said it plans to have 12 people providing oversight, inspections and reviews of the project's first phase.
"We currently provide building inspection and plan review services across the nation to over 100 communities. We've dealt with roughly two dozen data centers across the country as well, large distribution centers," said Will Hart of the firm.
WTOC reported the firm only works with local governments, has 40 years of experience with large industrial projects, and previously helped with the Hyundai site in Bryan County and a children's hospital in Atlanta.
Firm representatives took questions only from county leaders. There was no public comment for that part of the meeting, according to WTOC. Residents told the station they want their voices heard as the county moves ahead.
The scale of Project Camellia
A 44-page state Development of Regional Impact review released in September laid out the size of the project, WTOC reported at the time. Developer Octans GA LLC requested site plan approval for four buildings totaling 4.4 million square feet across three parcels near the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub. The review put the estimated build-out value at $20 billion.
The DRI review estimated peak electrical demand of 3,210 megawatts from Georgia Power, which WTOC said would make it the largest single electricity consumer in Georgia history. It also noted that portions of the site sit in a Special Flood Hazard Area and include freshwater forested and shrub wetlands, and that roughly 65% of the 1,400 acres would be covered by impervious surfaces when finished.
Effingham County's project page says Project Camellia is planned in five phases and must still go through county and state reviews, approvals, permits and inspections covering water and sewer, setbacks and buffers, stormwater, wetlands, utilities, erosion control, building requirements and fire safety before construction and operation. The county says plans include a minimum 300-foot vegetative buffer along neighboring non-industrial properties.
Why it matters for contractors
Project Camellia is a huge job by any measure. A $20 billion, 4.4-million-square-foot campus built in phases would need large amounts of sitework, stormwater and wetlands work, concrete, steel, electrical and mechanical construction, and projects of that size often draw contractors and workers from well beyond the local area.
The county's hire tells contractors how the job will be run on the public side. A dedicated 12-person team handling plan review and inspections for phase one should mean faster, more consistent turnaround than a small county building department could manage on its own. It also means close attention. Contractors should expect inspectors who know data centers and won't be stretched thin, and a county contact focused on truck routes, noise and other neighbor complaints. Logistics plans, haul routes and work hours will matter.
The site itself brings challenges: flood zones, wetlands and a high share of impervious surface mean stormwater, erosion control and environmental permitting will be central to the early phases. Sitework and civil contractors with experience on large coastal Georgia projects, like the Hyundai site, may be in the best position for early packages. Subs and suppliers should follow Effingham County's Project Camellia page for approvals and phase announcements.