What: A tentative proposal from the Kraft Group and Unified Global Packaging Group, a Sutton-based Kraft Group company, for a data center campus on part of its Unified Parkway property (off Boston Road and Providence Road).
Scale (developer and press figures, not verified): up to 10 buildings of about 250,000 sq ft each, about 900 MW of power at full build-out, and more than $16 billion of private investment by the developer's estimate, compared with about $2.8 billion in assessed value for all property in Sutton today. The first two buildings would open in 2029, with two more each year through 2033. Estimated tax revenue is reported as about $10.4 million a year from FY2031 rising to about $27.8 million by FY2035.
Where it stands: The Town Manager calls the proposal "tentative." No application has been filed, and details on power, water, equipment and site impacts are still to come. The company is reported to be in talks with ISO New England on power. A Nov. 6 letter from more than a dozen Sutton department heads does not endorse the project but urges a process for review, including zoning amendments with Town Meeting deciding any zoning change.
Open question: one news report says Select Board approval is required for the project to proceed, while others say a zoning change needs Town Meeting. Not resolved in the sources found.
Next: After the first public review on 2026-11-10 - Select Board, the board took no vote and agreed to begin zoning-bylaw discussions with the Planning Board, plus public education and forums; members did not want to rush to a May Town Meeting.
Background: a December 2025 local newspaper headline reported the company denying a data center option tied to its tax increment financing agreement; the article text could not be read.
Details
Town Manager Austin Cyganiewicz confirmed the proposal in a letter to the Select Board on Monday, Nov. 9.
No zoning article, moratorium article, special permit or Planning Board item on data centers was found in the Fall Town Meeting warrant (2026 Fall Town Meeting) or in the Planning Board and Select Board meetings of October and early November.
State Executive Order 658 (Sept. 8, 2026) bars state permits for data centers over 25 MW unless the developer files a community benefits agreement and meets the Governor's expectations. The order does not literally give towns a vote, and local zoning is unchanged. This project, at a reported 900 MW, is far above the threshold. See Massachusetts Data Center Policy.
First public review. The chair said no decision would be made. Staff gave a preliminary overview, not a recommendation: Phase 1 of two 250,000 sq ft buildings at 90 MW each (possibly 2029), full build-out of 10 buildings by 2033, and a staff estimate of about $10.4 million a year in property tax in FY2031 and $27.8 million in FY2035, well below the developer's valuation. Staff outlined due diligence with developer-funded peer review and noted a zoning change would need a two-thirds Town Meeting vote.
Residents spoke against the proposal in public forum, citing water, electricity, noise, heat, health, property values and long-term taxes. Board members raised surety and decommissioning, aquifer and PFAS protection, low-frequency noise and zoning first; they confirmed no non-disclosure agreements. No vote was taken.