The data center debate isn’t just a Lubbock story anymore. About 1,300 people live in Sundown, and on Saturday morning a crowd of them turned out to talk about a project that doesn’t officially exist yet.
Sundown’s City Council voted unanimously to take part in discussions about a possible data center on Mallet Ranch land east of town, KCBD reported. The special meeting, held at City Hall, 809 S. Slaughter Ave., was called with a single action item, “discuss and take action on data center,” according to the posted agenda. It started at 8 a.m. and wrapped up around 9:30 after more than an hour of public comment.
How this started
The ranch’s owners contacted the city about land east of Sundown and asked whether officials wanted a seat at the table if development moves forward, KCBD reported. That request led council members to call the special session.
There are no concrete plans for a data center, KCBD and Telemundo Lubbock both reported. Nobody has publicly named a developer, a size, a power source or a water source.
What residents are worried about
Mayor Jonathan Strickland said residents raised three big concerns: water, electricity and roads.
“Water is a big concern for us out here. We’ve had drought lots of years. The aquifer is very low. We know that from farmers, ranchers, and even our city,” Strickland told KCBD. “Electrical infrastructure is another concern. We don’t know how that will affect our community if they tap into the electricity that we have.”
He said the Texas Department of Transportation wants to be part of road discussions too, because heavy equipment could damage pavement and other infrastructure. “There’s still a lot of unknowns,” he said.
Whose land is it?
The Mallet Ranch is one of the best-known names in South Plains history. According to the ranch’s own history, it dates to an 1895 partnership between David M. DeVitt Sr. and John Scharbauer, is headquartered in Hockley County and covers more than 53,000 acres in Hockley, Terry, Cochran and Yoakum counties. (The Handbook of Texas traces the Mallet brand back to the 1880s.)
Oil was discovered on the ranch in May 1938, the ranch says, and DeVitt’s daughters, Christine DeVitt and Helen DeVitt Jones, went on to found the CH Foundation and the Helen Jones Foundation. The ranch says the two foundations have given more than $200 million to the region, including Texas Tech, Lubbock’s food bank, the National Ranching Heritage Center and the Mallet Event Center.
The bigger picture on the South Plains
Sundown’s vote lands the same week Lubbock is wrestling with the issue. The Lubbock City Council holds a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10, on a proposed 90-day pause on new applications for large data centers (our preview), and the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 last week to recommend new data center zoning rules (our story).
A Texas Tech energy commerce professor, Kassandra McQuillen, told Lubbock Lights she doesn’t expect a hyperscale data center in Lubbock, pointing to water access and annexation. Her students recently toured two big Panhandle projects. Her advice to small communities: weigh temporary construction jobs against permanent ones, and plan for the strain a large workforce can put on housing, roads and public services. “We forget we need those people to make their own decisions,” she said.
What we still don’t know
- Who would build it, how big it would be and how many permanent jobs it might bring.
- Where its power and water would come from.
- What “joining discussions” commits Sundown to, and whether Hockley County will be involved.
- When, or whether, residents will get another public meeting.
How to stay informed
Sundown posts meeting agendas on the Public Notices page at sundowntx.com, and the city’s website also offers TextMyGov alerts. City Hall’s number on the agenda is 806-229-3131. We’ve asked the city and the ranch for more details and will update this story.
Sources
- KCBD, Nov. 7, 2026: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/11/07/sundown-city-council-votes-join-talks-possible-data-center/
- Telemundo Lubbock, Nov. 7, 2026: https://www.telemundolubbock.com/2026/11/08/sundown-participar-en-conversaciones-sobre-un-posible-centro-de-datos/
- City of Sundown, Nov. 7 special meeting agenda: https://sundowntx.com/november-special-2026-agenda/
- Mallet Ranch Management Co., About the Mallet Ranch: https://www.malletranch.com/blank-1
- Handbook of Texas, Mallet Ranch: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mallet-ranch
- Lubbock Lights, Benji Snead, Nov. 6, 2026: https://lubbocklights.com/texas-tech-professor-doubts-lubbock-will-land-a-hyperscale-data-center/
- CityPopulation.de (U.S. Census figures), Sundown: http://citypopulation.de/en/usa/texas/hockley/4871060__sundown/
- Hub City UnCovered, Nov. 10 council hearing preview: https://hubcityuncovered.com/lubbock-city-council-nov-10-2026-data-center-moratorium-hearing/