Controlled Blasting Planned for Greenpoint Data Center Site in Columbia County

Columbia County authorities have announced controlled blasting near the future Greenpoint data center construction site in the Pumpkin Center area, north of Harlem, Georgia. The activity is scheduled to begin on October 22, 2026, and continue through December 30.

Blasting is planned every other weekday, in an approximate 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. window. The contractor is expected to conduct the work under applicable safety requirements. The programme signals that the development is moving into active site-preparation work; it does not indicate that the data center itself has been commissioned or is operational.

A May 5 development filing identifies Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. as contractor for the initial phase of Project Squash at 6423 Wrightsboro Road. That phase site covers about 325 acres. The available information connects the Greenpoint site and Project Squash through the construction-site context and initial-phase reference, although it does not provide direct legal confirmation that the two are the same formal project name.

The activity adds to the pipeline of data-center development in Columbia County, where a separate, larger Google data-center site is planned at White Oak Technology Park. For infrastructure stakeholders, the immediate significance is physical progress on a new site rather than confirmation of delivered capacity: no data-center power capacity, CAPEX, completion schedule, or operational date has been disclosed.

The project is also developing against a backdrop of resident opposition to proposed data centers in the county. Local concerns have focused on electricity consumption and environmental impacts. This could make community acceptance and the substantiation of resource requirements material considerations for subsequent projects, although the available information does not report formal permitting denials, schedule changes, or delays related to the protests.