AVAIO Digital Leo Campus

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. January 2026

   Proposed
   AVAIO Digital announces $6B+ AI-ready data center campus in Pulaski County; Governor Sanders describes it as largest economic investment in Arkansas history; construction targeted Q1 2026 start Source: Arkansas Economic Development Commission

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. AVAIO Digital Leo Campus in Pulaski County, Arkansas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. Pulaski County adopted a one-year data-center moratorium (10 votes) in May 2026 but exempted AVAIO by a bare 8-vote majority, the minimum on the 15-member Quorum Court.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

Pulaski County adopted a one-year data-center moratorium (10 votes) in May 2026 but exempted AVAIO by a bare 8-vote majority, the minimum on the 15-member Quorum Court. Residents opposed the project over water use and farmland; it is backed by state and county leadership and the Little Rock Regional Chamber.

Source: UALR Public Radio

Power and water

150 MW contracted from Entergy Arkansas (grid supply, energized Q2 2027); additional substantial on-site natural gas infrastructure planned (capacity not specified in sources); up to 1 GW anticipated total demand as facility grows. Rainwater capture, rooftop solar, and advanced cooling economization also planned.

AVAIO's project manager testified to the Pulaski County Quorum Court that the campus would demand about 200,000 gallons of water per day on average during warmer months, dropping to near zero in winter; the specific cooling technology was not disclosed.

Notes on the record

Location: off Interstate 530 near 145th Street, Pulaski County; coordinates are approximate for the I-530 corridor south of Little Rock. Named after the Leo constellation. Initial $6B investment may grow to $21B through full build-out. First phase completion targeted June 2027. Campus sits near long-haul fiber routes connecting Dallas, Atlanta, and Memphis. Q1 2026 construction start was planned as of announcement; current construction status unconfirmed as of research date. Fix: energy.source corrected from 'on_site_gas' to 'mixed'; onSiteGenerationMw removed, the 150 MW figure is the Entergy Arkansas grid supply contract, not on-site generation; on-site gas capacity is unquantified in sources. Arkansas's data-center sales-and-use tax exemption (Act 819 of 2023, expanded by Act 548 of 2025) likely applies given the investment scale, but no AVAIO-specific incentive award has been published.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Port of Little Rock Data Center · Little Rock · Google5 mi · Under construction
• TierPoint Little Rock · Little Rock · TierPoint10 mi · Operating
• Interstate Holdings Blockchain Cabot Mine · Cabot · Interstate Holdings Blockchain26 mi · Operating · Contested
• Interstate Holdings Blockchain Vilonia Mine (proposed, denied) · Vilonia · Interstate Holdings Blockchain30 mi · Cancelled · Opposed

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