Sale of some of Mega Site property closes

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The Marsh Foundation has officially completed the sale of 221 acres of land located within the Van Wert Mega Site. A press release announcing the completion of the sale was issued Thursday morning by The Marsh Foundation CEO Jeff Grothouse on behalf of Trustees Gary Clay, Bob Gamble and Gary Corcoran.

A data center is expected to be built on the newly acquired property. Thor Equities has been confirmed as the buyer of the property, but the name of the company who will own and run the data center may not be known until late 2026. The purchase price was not disclosed and it’s not known when construction will begin.

“While details regarding the development timeline are not available at the time, The Marsh Foundation is committed to transparency and collaboration with local partners and residents,” the release stated. “We believe open communications and shared progress are important in building a strong and united future.”

The press release said funds from the sale will directly benefit the children and families supported by The Marsh Foundation through group homes, on-campus school, clinical services that include equine programming, and foster care and adoption programs.

“These resources are reinvested to strengthen our mission, enhance programming and expand opportunities for youth to heal, grow and thrive,” the trustees said in the release. “These initiatives provide critical support and stability for children and families across northwest Ohio and beyond.”

The trustees also noted as Van Wert continues to grow, The Marsh Foundation remains dedicated to using its resources to serve both its mission and the broader needs of the community.

“We are honored to be part of the region’s progress while keeping children at the heart of everything we do,” they said.

A data center is a facility that houses and operates computing hardware such as servers, storage devices, and network equipment, and acts as a centralized location for storing and managing large amounts of data for an organization or company. A typical data center is five buildings, with each building spanning 250,000 square feet.