What do we know for sure?
Well, the company’s name is Silicon Foundry Energy LLC, and owner Andrii Garanin met with city leaders in May – including Mayor Denny Magruder and City Manager Bob Herron – soon after the firm purchased the former Centre Foundry property at 74 Warwood Avenue in April.
Garanin is Ukrainian but was forced out by the country’s war with Russia, so he moved to the Netherlands and then to the UAE. And yes, he does have a vision for his new property in Wheeling, W.Va., but, according to his local attorney, David Croft, it’s not a 100-megawatt data center.
“Will there be computers? Sure. I mean, it’s a technology-driven company,” said Croft, the Member in Charge of Spillman Thomas & Battle in downtown Wheeling. “I am certain that when Centre Foundry was running, it used more energy and it created more noise than what the intended use of the property by the people behind Silicon Foundry Energy. What Silicon wants to do is some manufacturing; we’d like to repurpose that long building right along West Virginia and have it re-engaged in some manufacturing activities.
“There will be some computing and there will be some manufacturing, is what I understand,” he said. “This project, though, has been portrayed as this tremendous energy-consuming, dirty, awful machine, and that is as far from the truth as can be.”
Garanin, Croft confirmed, will be in Wheeling next week and will be a guest on River Talk’s “Novotney Now” radio program at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1st.
“That way, everyone who wants to know exactly what this project is can all find out at the same time,” the real estate attorney said. “Based on a recent conversation I’ve had with Andre, I can tell you what the vision is not. I’ve asked the property owners if they have been releasing things about the plan, and they’ve said no.
“It’s definitely not a high-impact data center,” he said. “And it never will be that at that location.”
The Silicon Foundry owner did meet with city officials and explained the vision, but not the details, Croft conveyed.
“Over the last week, all we’ve seen and heard is that people came in during the stealth of the night, bought a piece of property, and now they’re going to building a monster of a machine. And that is so inaccurate,” he explained. “They love the opportunities and they’re excited to be part of American business ventures, but I certainly don’t want this to be their first taste of the area.
“But as soon as they try to do something, the town shows up with pitchforks and torches when there’s no valid information out there. This has been 100 percent speculation, and it’s unfortunate,” said Croft, a member of the Ohio County Board of Education. “They had a (property) broker, and it fit a footprint that they were interested in, and they are coming back next week and I’m sure they will explain more.”
The Stokes Announcement
According to Stokes Energy’s website (www.strokesus.com) states, “We develop, build, and operate energy infrastructure – from grid-scale storage and generation to data centers and mission-critical systems.”
How does that relate to Silicon Foundry’s potential operation? Croft has no idea.
“At this point, I really don’t quite understand where Stokes fits here, and I have not done any contracts with them nor have I had any conversations with them,” the attorney said. “But the concept that’s there’s going to be a 100,000-square-foot building that’s filled with supercomputers that’s going to be drinking up the river water and creating noise pollution is wrong.
“There’s zero chance of that happening. As far as what Stokes has announced, it’s all news to the new owners of the property,” he said. “We’ve never had that discussion.”
That’s why Croft and Garanin were confused by the Strokes’ LinkedIn post and the backlash from local residents.
“Well, there’s been a lot of misplaced anger,” Croft said. “These guys are coming in, and they’re good business people, and they want to be part of the community and it will create jobs. It’s not going to be Center Foundry, but it is an organization coming in trying to make something useful with this property.
“They’re getting backlash for something they’ve never disclosed,” he said. “And the Stokes folks did not have authority to say a word about anything.”
So, next week: “Novotney Now” – July 1st – 5 p.m. – Andrii Garanin, Silicon Foundry Energy LLC – River Talk 100.1 & 100.9 FM.
“I think it’s fair to say that we as a community want to know more, and no one can blame people for that. But until there’s actually a plan, there’s not a lot to disclose,” Croft said. “So, everything up to this point has just been made up, and it’s made up for political reasons, I believe.
“It’s that simple, I’m afraid, and it doesn’t take much of a spark for certain community members to just instantly hate anything because they want a reason to complain,” he insisted. “It was low-hanging fruit for those folks, but it’s a big bag of nothing. That’s why I’m looking forward to have the owner back in town next week so he can disclose what he’s intending.”
Statement from Mayor Denny Magruder Regarding the Centre Foundry Property in Warwood
In recent days, there has been considerable discussion and confusion regarding the potential development of the Centre Foundry property in Warwood. Approximately one month ago, the City Manager and I met with Andrii Garanin of the Silicone Foundation for what was a very preliminary conversation about possibilities for the site. During that meeting, no formal plans, drawings, proposals or specific development details were presented. At no point was a large-scale data center discussed, and to date, the City has not received any additional information, plans or documentation related to the property. Meetings and conversations of this nature occur regularly as the City engages with developers, organizations and other groups interested in exploring opportunities within our community. Should any substantive information be submitted to the City in the future, it will be shared through the appropriate channels with the relevant stakeholders and the public.
