A former gun manufacturing site in New York could be redeveloped into a data center campus.

As noted by local press, including CNYCentral and the Rome Sentinel, Turin Hoefler Avenue LLC has filed a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation detailing its plans to redevelop the former Remington Arms plant in Ilion.

Ilion is a village in Herkimer County in central New York state, some 68 miles (109km) east of Syracuse. Located on 32 acres at 14 Hoefler Avenue, the five-story manufacturing plant totals 1.1 million sq ft (102,195 sqm) across dozens of buildings.

Remington was founded in 1816 in Ilion and is one of the oldest gun makers in the US. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 – its second filing in three years – and was subsequently sold in parts to several buyers. The manufacturing business centered in Ilion became RemArms under Roundhill Group, and relocated its headquarters to LaGrange, Georgia.

Dating back to the 1800s, the current Remington arms factory in Ilion was closed in March 2024 and sold to Turin Hoefler Avenue LLC the year after. The plant manufactured Remington-branded guns and employed some 300 people at the time of its closure.

According to filings, Turin Hoefler Avenue is planning data center developments on sites C and E within the plant site, and a substation on site D. Full details haven’t been shared, but parts of the existing plant will be demolished.

A 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sqm) data center is planned on Site C, and another of the same size on Site E as part of a Phase II development. Filings suggest the site will total 200MW. Some $2-3 billion could be invested in the project, according to filings.

The applications state that Sites C, D, and E were used for industrial manufacturing, primarily dedicated to firearms production. Most of the buildings were reportedly built between 1914 and 1916, with additional construction occurring from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Site D currently contains oil-filled transformers. Historically, a transformer house was located on site D between 1925 and 1959. Portions of site D were also used for petroleum storage between 1897 and 1959. Portions of site E were used for petroleum storage between 1897 and 1959, including facilities such as an oil tank, a fuel oil tank, and an oil house.

A Change.org petition against the proposals has garnered more than 150 signatures at the time of writing.