Smithfield Corporate Complex (Hanton City data center plan)
Also called: Hanton City Business Park, Smithfield Corporate Complex, Hanton City data center
Developers want to build a business park with about 903,000 square feet in six buildings, with a data center as the main tenant, on wooded land in Smithfield. The town banned data centers one day after the application came in. The town says the plan is incomplete and would need a hard-to-get zoning exception; the developers say it is allowed and have sued the town.
Where things stand: Application filed May 4, 2026, one day before the town banned data centers. The town called it incomplete; the developers are appealing and have sued the town.
🕒 Latest update (Oct 7, 2026): The Smithfield Zoning Board of Review, sitting as the Board of Appeals, was scheduled to hear the developers' appeal at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
What we know
- 📍 Where364 George Washington Highway and land around it, in the woods behind the Fidelity Investments office park, off Douglas Pike (Route 7) across from Bryant University, Smithfield, Providence County
- 🏢 CompanyHanton City Investments LLC and ROK LLC
- 💸 Tax breaksNo local tax deal reported. The developer side said the town would get about $59 million in taxes over 30 years (about $42 million after town costs). A state tax break bill for data centers (H7695 / S2346) died in committee in June 2026.
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- What did the Zoning Board of Review decide on the developers' appeal on Oct. 7, 2026? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many acres would the project use, and how much power (megawatts) would the data center need? 🙋 I'll find out
- Where would the water and electricity come from, and would new power lines be needed? 🙋 I'll find out
- Which company would use the data center? 🙋 I'll find out
- Did the Town of Smithfield sign a secret deal (NDA) about this project? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- March 17, 2026A Revity Energy vice president and the landowner told the Smithfield Town Council about a business park with a data center as its main tenant.
- March 19, 2026The Smithfield Planning Board met and later backed the council's idea to ban data centers in town.
- May 4, 2026Hanton City Investments LLC filed an application with the town for industrial and warehouse uses, including data centers.
- May 5, 2026The Town Council voted 4-1 to ban data centers in every zone. The ban took effect 30 days later.
- June 11, 2026The town planning director found the application incomplete for a second time.
- July 4, 2026Hanton City Investments and ROK LLC sued the town and all five council members in Providence County Superior Court. They want the court to say data centers were allowed under the old zoning rules.
- Sept 2, 2026The Zoning Board of Review hearing on the developers' appeal was postponed to Oct. 7.
- Sept 15, 2026The developers filed an amended complaint in their lawsuit against the town.
- Oct 7, 2026The Smithfield Zoning Board of Review, sitting as the Board of Appeals, was scheduled to hear the developers' appeal at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
Local votes and rules
⚖️ Court case
The developers of the Hanton City business park (Hanton City Investments LLC and ROK LLC) sued the town and its council. They say their plans were complete before the data center ban took effect, so the old rules should apply. More filings came on Sept. 15, 2026. The case is not decided.
📌 Other
On June 11, 2026, the town planning director said the Hanton City plans were still incomplete. The developers appealed to the Zoning Board. The hearing was put off several times. On Oct. 7, 2026, it was moved again, to January 2027, because of the lawsuits. If the developers win, the plans go to the Planning Board for public hearings.
🚫 Ban
The Town Council voted 4-1 to change the zoning rules so data centers are not allowed in any part of town. The change took effect 30 days later, in early June 2026. A developer filed plans for a business park with a data center one day before the vote, and is fighting the town over which rules apply.
Drag the slider to compare the land before and now.
Where this comes from
- Energy-Intensive Data Center Proposed for Woods of Smithfield · ecoRI News · April 9, 2026
- Proposed data center still looms over Smithfield, even after town council enacts ban · Ocean State Media · May 13, 2026
- Charlestown Considers Banning Data Centers, Battery Storage Facilities · ecoRI News · Aug 10, 2026
- Data center appeal again postponed in Smithfield · The Valley Breeze · Sept 3, 2026
- Smithfield Data Center Project Moves Through Court and Town Appeal · Substack (local newsletter) · Sept 29, 2026
- Census geocoder: 364 Washington Hwy, Smithfield, RI · U.S. Census Bureau · Oct 8, 2026
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