Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte responded Tuesday to a LouisianaVoice blog post alleging a data center was planned for the parish, saying in a public video that he had no project to announce, while outlining potential economic benefits of data centers and addressing concerns about water use, infrastructure costs, and effects on nearby neighborhoods.
In his video statement released on Facebook, Delatte said, “Let me be clear: I have not signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding any business coming to Livingston Parish. To my knowledge, no locally elected official in Livingston Parish has signed one regarding a business coming here.”
The blog post written by Tom Aswell set off a local social media firestorm when it was published Monday, alleging a new data center was coming to Livingston Parish, and the negotiations bringing in this project were done in secret with the Parish President and all members of the Parish Council signing NDAs “in an effort to keep a lid on the news.”
The blog post goes on to cite Council Member Ricky Goff’s remarks at a November 3, 2025 Zoning Committee meeting concerning a piece of land off Buddy Ellis Rd. Goff states he signed a “confidentiality disclosure thing” concerning the proposed use of the land originally planned for development as a 1700-family subdivision.
The piece of land in question is a 691-acre property that was rezoned from Residential to Heavy Industrial on November 20, 2025. The request for rezoning was made by Juban Land Holdings LLC. The Louisiana Secretary of State lists Reeder & Hawes Investments of Dallas, TX, as the officer for the company. Both the Zoning Committee and the Parish Council voted unanimously to approve the rezoning request.
The blog post also alleges a DEMCO request for an expedited approval to generate an additional gigawatt of energy is evidence of the rumored data center moving forward. However the documentation provided does not show whether the application concerns supplying additional customer demand, or another grid arrangement. It also does not demonstrate that the entire gigawatt is attributable to this particular tract of land.
The video did not explain whether discussions with a developer are underway, what stage they have reached, or whether the Buddy Ellis Road property is connected to a proposed data center. While the Parish President declined to confirm the project, he did leave the possibility open.
“If Livingston Parish ever lands an investment of this magnitude, I want our teachers, families, local businesses, and taxpayers to see real benefits. There's no data center project that I can announce today. If and when there is a concrete proposal to bring before the public, I will share the facts with you.”
