After months of debate about what Southern Ohio’s data center boom will mean for local residents, businesses are getting an opportunity to compete for some of the work.
Scioto County Commissioners shared information about a Regional Build Briefing scheduled for Thursday, August 27, aimed specifically at connecting local contractors, suppliers and other businesses with work on Project Dazzler, Google’s data center development in Franklin Furnace.
Holder Construction, in partnership with the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, will host the event from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Shawnee State University Kricker Innovation Hub, 221 Chillicothe Street in Portsmouth.
The goal is straightforward: show local companies what work is coming and help them get qualified to bid for it.
Not Just Construction Companies
While electricians, plumbers and construction contractors are obvious candidates, the list of businesses needed for the project is much broader.
Holder says opportunities are expected to include mechanical and plumbing contractors, electricians, earthwork and paving companies, concrete contractors, fire protection companies, drywall installers, security companies and landscapers.
But the list also includes businesses providing cleaning services, office supplies, dumpsters, portable restrooms, construction equipment, transportation, signage, flooring, painting, glass, masonry and other products and services.
In other words, you don’t necessarily have to be a massive construction company to potentially benefit from the project.
Holder says businesses attending the meeting will be able to fill out a simple Prequalification Interest Form. Project representatives will then follow up with interested companies and help guide them through the full prequalification process.
Turning Promises of Local Benefits Into Actual Work
That’s significant considering one of the questions surrounding Project Dazzler from the beginning has been how much of the economic benefit will actually stay in Scioto County.
The Franklin Furnace project has faced considerable controversy over tax incentives, electricity, water, traffic, environmental concerns and the secrecy surrounding the project’s early development.
Commissioners have consistently argued that one of the biggest benefits would be the economic ripple effect created during construction, particularly for local workers and businesses.
Now that construction is underway, we’re beginning to see what that could look like.
Commissioner Merit Smith recently said there were already between 150 and 200 people working at the site, primarily equipment operators and truck drivers.
Even more striking, Smith said project representatives told him the workforce could eventually reach around 3,500 construction workers at peak activity, far above the original estimates of roughly 1,200 to 1,500.
Smith said businesses near the site are already being warned to prepare for the influx, with discussions taking place with local stores, food truck operators and even the nearby dairy bar.
This August 27 meeting takes that economic impact another step further by attempting to connect local companies directly with the project.
And Franklin Furnace Isn’t the Only Big Project Coming
The timing is particularly important because Project Dazzler is no longer the only enormous data center development on Southern Ohio’s horizon.
Just north of Scioto County, plans for the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County have grown into an even larger project.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, recently announced an agreement to secure approximately 8 gigawatts of computing capacity at that development. Plans call for a six-year buildout through 2032 that developers say could generate 35,000 construction jobs over the course of construction and approximately 2,500 long-term operating jobs.
That is a completely separate project from Google’s Franklin Furnace development.
But put the two together, along with the new power generation, transmission infrastructure and other development being planned around them, and Southern Ohio could be looking at years of construction activity.
That makes getting local companies qualified to participate increasingly important.
How Local Businesses Can Get Involved
The Regional Build Briefing will be held:
Thursday, August 27, 2026
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
SSU Kricker Innovation Hub
221 Chillicothe Street, Portsmouth
Holder Construction says representatives will explain upcoming scopes of work and partnership opportunities and begin the prequalification process for interested businesses.
Questions about the event can be directed to Holder representative Salvador Peinado at speinado@holder.com.
After months of Southern Ohio residents asking what the data center boom will actually mean for the people who live here, August 27 offers at least one concrete answer:
Local businesses now have an opportunity to get in the door and compete for some of the work.