The proposed Canton Orchard View Data Center is planned for southeast Canton on land owned by DAMAC Digital. The project is being developed as infrastructure for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and enterprise workloads, according to the project's official website.
The development comes as DAMAC expands beyond its traditional real estate and hospitality businesses and builds a growing presence in the global data center industry.
DAMAC Digital's Canton project: What we know
The Canton Orchard View project is proposed on approximately 85 acres in southeast Canton, northeast of Trump Avenue SE and Orchard View Drive SE. Recent reporting said the property had been annexed into the city in 2025 and is owned by DAMAC Digital.
DAMAC has described the project as a purpose-built digital infrastructure campus consisting of two buildings, multiple data halls and an on-site electrical substation.
The company's project website says the facilities are intended to support next-generation AI, cloud computing and enterprise workloads.
The project remains proposed rather than operational. A third-party data-center registry currently lists DAMAC's Canton facilities as planned, rather than operating.
A proposed $1 billion-plus investment
While the original project announcement did not disclose an investment value, a DAMAC spokesperson later told The Canton Repository that the total investment is expected to exceed $1 billion if the project proceeds.
That would make the Canton development a significant addition to Stark County's growing data-center ecosystem.
The area is already seeing major digital infrastructure investment, including a large Bitdeer facility in nearby Massillon and an Amazon data center project in Perry Township.
DAMAC plans community engagement in Canton
DAMAC Digital held a community forum on July 14, 2026, at the Edward Peel Coleman Community Center in Canton.
The company presented site layouts and invited residents to ask questions and provide feedback. The official project portal continues to provide information about the development and allows residents to submit questions.
Hussain Sajwani, founder of DAMAC Group, said the company wanted to approach the project as a responsible member of the Canton community.
The company's messaging has focused heavily on environmental design, neighborhood impact and water conservation.
Closed-loop cooling is a major part of the proposal
One of the most notable features promoted by DAMAC Digital is its proposed closed-loop cooling system.
According to the project's official website, the system would initially contain approximately 1.2 million gallons of a coolant mixture made up of 70% water and 30% propylene glycol.
Rather than continuously consuming water through evaporation, DAMAC says the liquid would remain sealed within the system and circulate continuously. The company says this would significantly reduce ongoing water consumption associated with cooling.
DAMAC also says that heat would be rejected to the outside air through mechanical fans.
These are claims made by the project developer and should be considered alongside the project's eventual regulatory reviews, engineering documentation and operating requirements.
DAMAC says the campus is designed to reduce neighborhood impact
The company says the Canton campus has been designed with the surrounding community in mind.
According to DAMAC's project website, the proposed development would include:
Two purpose-built data center buildings
Multiple interior data halls
An on-site electrical substation
Closed-loop cooling technology
Minimal heavy freight activity
No manufacturing byproducts
Site planning intended to protect surrounding sightlines
DAMAC also says the facility would generate relatively limited traffic compared with industrial developments because data centers generally require a comparatively small permanent workforce.
How many jobs could the DAMAC project create?
The proposed development is expected to generate construction and trade employment during the building phase.
DAMAC says the project could eventually support approximately 60 permanent on-site employees, covering technical, facilities and security functions, with additional employment potentially created by future end users.
The company also says it is exploring community initiatives, including technology training and programs designed to help local residents develop skills relevant to digital infrastructure.
Why Canton is attracting data centers
The Canton project comes amid a broader surge in demand for data-center capacity across the United States.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cloud computing is driving demand for facilities capable of providing large amounts of computing power, electricity and cooling infrastructure.
For DAMAC, the U.S. opportunity is particularly significant.
In January 2025, Hussain Sajwani announced plans for approximately $20 billion of investment in U.S. data centers over the coming years. Reuters reported that the investment would be made through DAMAC's digital infrastructure business and would target multiple U.S. states.
The announcement was made alongside then-President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
The proposed Canton project therefore forms part of a much larger U.S. digital infrastructure strategy rather than being an isolated development.
From Dubai real estate to global digital infrastructure
DAMAC Group is best known internationally for its property development business, particularly in Dubai and other Middle Eastern markets.
However, the group has increasingly diversified into sectors including hospitality, retail, fashion and digital infrastructure.
DAMAC Digital describes itself as the group's digital infrastructure division, offering hyperscale data centers, enterprise colocation, build-to-suit facilities and AI-optimized infrastructure.
The company's official Canton project website says DAMAC Digital has projects in various stages of development across 13 countries.
This expansion represents a significant evolution of the DAMAC business model: from developing physical real estate for residential, commercial and hospitality users to developing the infrastructure required by the digital economy.
DAMAC's wider relationship with Trump
DAMAC's U.S. expansion also has a notable connection with the Trump brand.
DAMAC Group owns the Trump International Golf Club Dubai, which opened in 2017.
Hussain Sajwani and Donald Trump have maintained a long-standing business relationship, and their association received renewed attention when Sajwani announced the U.S. data-center investment plan in January 2025. Reuters reported that the $20 billion plan was intended to support data-center development across the United States.
The Canton development is therefore being watched not only as a data-center project, but also as part of DAMAC's broader international diversification and U.S. investment strategy.
What happens next for the Canton project?
The Canton Orchard View development is still at the proposed-project stage, meaning several important questions will depend on planning, zoning, permitting and regulatory processes.
Canton has also been considering zoning changes specifically addressing data centers, including issues involving noise, utilities and other aspects of large-scale digital infrastructure.
For local residents, the key issues are likely to include:
Electricity demand and grid infrastructure
Water consumption
Cooling technology
Noise levels
Backup power systems
Traffic
Construction activity
Property and neighborhood impacts
Local employment
Tax and economic benefits
DAMAC's community engagement campaign indicates that the company is attempting to address several of these questions before the project advances further.
What DAMAC's Canton project means for the UAE
For the UAE property and business sector, the Canton development is significant because it demonstrates how a Dubai-founded property conglomerate is expanding into infrastructure linked to the global AI economy.
The move also highlights a broader trend among Gulf-based investors: deploying capital internationally into sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence, data centers and digital infrastructure.
DAMAC's strategy is particularly notable because its traditional strength has been real estate. Data centers provide the group with exposure to a different category of long-term infrastructure demand.
If the Canton project proceeds as currently proposed, it will become one of the more visible examples of a Dubai-based developer investing in America's expanding AI infrastructure ecosystem.
Bottom line
The Canton Orchard View Data Center is a proposed large-scale digital infrastructure project backed by Dubai-based DAMAC Digital.
The development is planned around two data-center buildings and is designed to support AI, cloud and enterprise workloads. DAMAC is promoting closed-loop cooling and other technologies intended to reduce the project's environmental footprint, while local authorities and residents continue to examine the project's potential effects on the community.
The reported $1 billion-plus potential investment would also give the project significance beyond Canton, placing it within Hussain Sajwani's much larger push to establish DAMAC as a global digital infrastructure player.
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