This canonical record consolidates 14 source-backed observations without discarding aliases, limitations or unresolved dimensions.
| Operator / developer | Operator undisclosed |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Forsyth County (Rural Hall), NC |
| Address | 54 acres on Bethania-Rural Hall Road directly across from Rural Hall Town Hall, including farmland, two ponds, four houses and Beaver Dam Creek |
| Location precision | street address |
| Coordinates | null, null |
| Capacity | Not established |
| Aliases | "Project Iron Spur" · "Project Iron Spur" (Case F-1669, denied) |
| Project profile | 10 rows |
|---|---|
| Intent / permits | 1 rows |
| Civic / infrastructure | 3 rows |
The rezoning covered 128.54 acres on Bethania-Rural Hall Road directly across from Rural Hall Town Hall, including farmland, two ponds, four houses and Beaver Dam Creek; the applicant's own site described 144 acres.
Key data: 128.54 acres, Bethania-Rural Hall Road, across from Rural Hall Town Hall
Limitation: Acreage reported as 128.54 / ~129 / 130 / 144 depending on source; no parcel ID found.
Applicant was The Drox Group LLC (Charlotte-based); petitioners/landowners named in the case are private individuals and a family LLC.
Key data: Applicant The Drox Group LLC; owners Jennifer Jobe, James Martin Serber III, James Martin Serber Jr., Julia Wall, Wall Family of North Carolina LLC
Limitation: Drox Group's ultimate ownership/backers not identified; no end user disclosed.
No operator or tenant was disclosed; Drox Group acted as developer and Montrose LLC handled entitlement.
Key data: Operator undisclosed
Limitation: Project denied 5-2 on 2026-07-30, so no operator was ever named.
Duke Energy infrastructure surrounds the site: an existing 230 kV substation and transmission adjoin it and a 150-foot-wide Duke Energy easement crosses the property north-south; a project substation was proposed.
Key data: Duke Energy; existing 230 kV substation adjacent; 150-ft Duke easement on site
Limitation: No MW figure, interconnection number, or large-load tariff docket published.
The applicant cited the regional (Winston-Salem/Forsyth) system with ~91 MGD capacity, ~40 MGD used and ~51 MGD available; the zoning case required public water and sewer.
Key data: Regional water system: ~91 MGD capacity, ~51 MGD available
Limitation: Utility name not stated on the developer page; no service agreement reference.
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners had final authority (denied 5-2); the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning Board recommendation was advisory (7-2 denial); the land lies outside Rural Hall town limits, though annexation was possible.
Key data: Forsyth County BOC (final); WS/Forsyth County Planning Board (advisory); Town of Rural Hall (no vote)
Limitation: n.a.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning Board handled Case F-1669; a named staff planner authored the report and the planning director spoke publicly; the county commissioners' office phone is published by the applicant site.
Key data: Planner Rory Howard (staff report); Planning Director Chris Murphy; Forsyth County Commissioners' Office (336) 703-2020
Limitation: No direct planner email/phone published in fetched sources.
Greater Winston-Salem Inc. is the relevant regional economic development body; its president and CEO commented publicly on data-center developer interest in Forsyth County.
Key data: Mark Owens, President & CEO, Greater Winston-Salem Inc.
Limitation: No direct email/phone; no evidence Greater Winston-Salem Inc. formally sponsored the project.
The developer-aligned advocacy site published named entitlement contacts at Montrose LLC.
Key data: Michael Foess, PE, PMP — michael@themontroseteam.com, 704-828-6096; Aaron Sloan — asloan@themontroseteam.com
Limitation: These are developer-side contacts; no county PIO contact found for this case.
Adjacent uses include active rail, a concrete plant, a mulching facility and dumpster services; an existing 230 kV substation sits immediately north with a separate 3.7-acre substation parcel.
Key data: Active rail line; 230 kV substation immediately north; 3.7-acre substation parcel
Limitation: Fiber routes not documented.
Key data: 128 acres
Status date: Hearing held July 30, 2026
Limitation: Could not reach a Forsyth County-hosted record of Case F1669 in this session; applicant name not stated in the fetched source.
Forsyth County commissioners denied the rezoning 5-2 on July 30, 2026, after the Planning Board recommended denial 7-2 on June 11 and more than 400 emails were submitted. The project would have placed three buildings totaling ~1,122,300 sq ft, 80–84 ft tall, on 128.54 acres of Rural Hall farmland; developer was The Drox Group LLC.
Key data: Denied 5-2 on 2026-07-30; >400 emails; 128.54 acres; ~1,122,300 sq ft
Status date: 2026-07-30
Limitation: Case file not fetched directly; corroborated by local outlets
The denial rested on inconsistency with the 2016 Rural Hall Area Plan Update and Forward 2045 comprehensive plan; the 128.54-acre site was active farmland.
Key data: 128.54 acres of farmland; denial grounded in comprehensive-plan inconsistency
Status date: 2026-07-30
Limitation: Plan documents themselves not fetched
Building height of 80–84 feet across three buildings (~1,122,300 sq ft) on 128.54 acres adjoining a residential/agricultural area was central to opposition; the community campaign site documents the scale objections that preceded denial.
Key data: 3 buildings, ~1,122,300 sq ft, 80–84 ft tall on 128.54 acres
Status date: 2026-07-30
Limitation: No decibel study or traffic-count figure found; scale metrics used as proxy