04/07/2026
There has been a lot of recent community discussion about the Mission Critical subdivision south of Aurora. To help clarify and address any misinformation, here is some high-level information about the site and ongoing development efforts.
Mission Critical is a 155-acre development located south of Aurora. Since its purchase by Aurora Development Corporation (ADC) in 2010, three businesses have located there: Mid-Nebraska Land Developers, Special Ag Formulations, and B-NE Data Centers (now owned by Fortitude Mining). Approximately 80 acres remain available for future development. The primary goal of both past and future development at Mission Critical is to expand the property tax base, ultimately increasing revenue for local taxing entities such as the city, county, and school district.
Primary questions about the data center have revolved around electrical and water usage.
- Electric service for the data center is provided by Southern Public Power District (SPPD), as the site falls within their service territory. While data centers do require significant power, a feed study confirmed there was sufficient capacity to support this facility. The data center operates under an interruptible rate with SPPD, meaning the district can require the facility to reduce or shut down power usage when needed—most commonly during irrigation season.
- The data center will be charged a 2% franchise fee once the site is annexed into the city in 2027. This fee is projected to generate approximately $100,000 annually in revenue for the City of Aurora.
- While some data centers require significant water resources, this facility is air-cooled and uses minimal water—primarily to support normal employee needs.
There has also been discussion regarding the infrastructure development at Mission Critical as it relates to the City’s $5.2 million bond, which the city council voted on earlier this year. This bond includes multiple projects beyond Mission Critical. While ADC is not affiliated with the City and cannot speak to the full bond, we can clarify the portion related to the Mission Critical Infrastructure development. The City contributed approximately $670,000 to extend water and sewer infrastructure to the broader Mission Critical area. Total infrastructure investment at the Mission Critical site—including streets, water, sewer, and storm sewer—totaling approximately $2.3 million. ADC funded the remaining $1.63 million through land sales, cash investment, and a $500,000 grant from the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Economic Opportunity Fund.
This infrastructure development was spurred by Special Ag Formulations $22 million investment in a new micro-nutrient project facility at the site. The company also helped to pay for the street infrastructure improvements. Based on initial estimates, the city’s infrastructure investment could be recouped through property tax revenue from these projects within approximately five years.
It is also important to note that when the Mission Critical site itself was purchased in 2010, roughly half of the cost was covered by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and ADC provided the matching funds. This CDBG grant was created by the state to attract data centers to Nebraska and several communities were awarded funds. Since that time the data center industry has changed significantly, and the program requirements changed too. In the end Aurora had to document that development efforts at that site generated at least 22 new jobs. ADC was able to provide that documentation and meet all the requirements to retain those grant funds in 2024.
