Compass Datacenters is looking to calm opposition to its data centers by offering $15 million to support the construction of an animal shelter in Red Oak, Ellis County, Texas.

“Ellis County and Compass Datacenters today announced a proposed $15 million grant agreement to fund the construction of a new, state-of-the-art municipal animal shelter,” reads the June 2 statement.

“When the SPCA of Texas closed its Ellis County regional care center on April 15, 2025, local rescue volunteers stepped up. They worked nights and weekends, opened their homes, and stretched every resource they had to keep animals safe. A year later, their neighbor, Compass Datacenters, is stepping up with them.”

“We plan to be a 100-year neighbor to Ellis County, and this is part of what that looks like,” said Compass CEO Chris Crosby.

The project has yet to be approved by the Ellis County Commissioners Court.

Locals in the area have been bristling at the presence of Compass – and other data center operators like DataBank, STACK, and QTS – in the area for some time.

Compass’ presence in Red Oak began in 2019, when it acquired 165 acres of land in the city with plans to host 16 data center buildings. It then expanded this to 225 acres of land in 2020 to build a 350MW data center. That campus, located at 300 Houston School Road, has one 1 million sq ft (92,905 sqm) building completed with another 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sqm) facility that was due for completion by the end of 2022.

2022 also saw Compass file with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for a new 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sqm) data center at 481 Austin Blvd in Red Oak, close to its existing campus. The $100m project is known as Roadrunner Building 2.

In April 2023, Compass acquired another 375 acres of undeveloped land in Red Oak, and in September 2024, Compass filed with the Texas Department of Licensing of Regulation to add three more buildings to the campus.

In May 2026, Compass also managed to get the approval of the City Council of Red Oak for a separate 830-acre campus located between Goodloe Lane, FM 2377, Pierce Road, and Pratt Road.

The decision was met with anger from locals who have since gathered more than 2,200 signatures on a Change.org petition against the proposed campus.

More data center developers are becoming sensitive to the grassroots unpopularity of their facilities and are looking for ways to improve their standing in the area where they want to set up shop.

Some developers will pledge money to help improve water and electrical infrastructure, whilst others, like Compass, might identify a more specific problem to solve.

In Red Oak, Compass helped set up the MEI Data Center Pathway Program with Texas State Technical College, a fast-track data center technician training program that it launched last November.