Douglas County approves 35-year Flexential tax rebate for Parker data center

Douglas County commissioners unanimously approved a 35-year agreement Tuesday giving Flexential a 100% rebate on the county’s share of business personal-property taxes for its planned Parker data center. Opponents estimated the rebate could cost the county about $19.3 million while producing relatively few permanent jobs.

The rebate applies only to the county’s share of the tax. Flexential would still owe real-property taxes and the business personal-property taxes owed to the school district, the Town of Parker and other taxing entities, county staff told commissioners during the Aug. 11 board meeting.

The $19.3 million figure is an estimate, not a fixed payment. Staff said the county would calculate the rebate annually based on business personal property assessed by the county assessor. The meeting record did not include the underlying assessed-value schedule, tax-rate assumptions or annual calculations.

The agreement covers Flexential’s facility near Compark and Interstate 470. The company describes the project as a roughly 249,000-square-foot data center with 22.5 megawatts of critical-load capacity, according to the company’s project specifications. The available public record does not establish that figure as a final contractual or permitting limit on the center’s power use.

Flexential representative Jack Vaughn told commissioners the center would use a closed-loop cooling system and consume less than 600,000 gallons of water annually, primarily for restrooms, employees, vendors, break rooms and landscaping. He also said Flexential would pay for required electrical upgrades, lines serving the facility and its utility use. The accessible record does not establish those figures as enforceable final limits.

Residents questioned the subsidy’s length and value, the project’s job creation, public notice and potential effects on water, electricity, noise, heat, lights and property values. Doug Chestnut said the county was “picking winners and losers” by rebating taxes to a large company while established businesses continue to pay them. Bob Marshall called the proposal “crony capitalism” and objected that it initially appeared on the consent agenda. Other speakers asked whether the rebate would apply if the facility expanded and what audit, eligibility or clawback requirements would govern it.

Staff said Colorado law permits counties to rebate up to 100% of their share of business personal-property taxes for as long as 35 years. Commissioners indicated the county generally provides the rebate when a business requests it rather than using a jobs-based scoring system.

The facility is under construction, Rocky Mountain PBS reported, citing a late-2024 construction start and an expected January 2027 opening. The report cited a county estimate of 16 permanent jobs, while earlier project representatives expected roughly 30 to 50 positions. The available record does not explain the differing figures or establish a binding employment commitment.

The county agenda identifies the item as Project ED2025-002 and lists an incentive agreement and staff report, but the accessible copies reviewed did not include their full terms. The record therefore does not show whether the agreement includes clawbacks, limits on expansions or replacement equipment, annual reporting requirements, or enforceable water and utility conditions.