A former cryptomine in South Carolina is set to be turned into an AI data center site to serve European AI cloud provider Nebius.

Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing digital infrastructure firm, AIB Data Centers, plans to redevelop its former Bitcoin mining facility in Spartanburg County into an AI data center with 50MW of IT capacity contracted to Amsterdam-based AI cloud provider Nebius.

The project would occupy approximately 16 acres at 389 Tyger River Industrial Drive in Moore. A draft development agreement in the county’s October 19 council papers describes replacing 20 equipment containers with a standalone data center building.

Known as CLT1, the campus is the subject of the Nebius agreement announced on September 30 and previously covered by DCD.

The initial lease term is 12 years, with two five-year renewal options. Its 50MW of critical IT capacity is supported by a 15-year agreement for 65MW of utility supply.

AIB’s October investor presentation estimates delivery of two 25MW data halls in the fourth quarter of 2027. The company expects customer prepayments, project debt and preferred equity to help finance construction, but says project financing has not been completed.

“Time-to-power is the binding constraint on AI infrastructure today,” Nebius chief product and infrastructure officer Andrey Korolenko said when the agreement was announced.

The development comes as Spartanburg County restricts new data centers under a one-year moratorium adopted in September. The county’s published ordinance allows exemptions for qualifying facilities with up to 65MW of IT capacity in named industrial parks or on former industrial sites, provided they do not generate electricity beyond emergency backup.

Exempt developments must meet requirements covering lighting, noise, and landscaping, and enter development agreements with the county. The ordinance also imposes restrictions on proximity to other data centers. Cryptocurrency mining is excluded from its data center definition.

The proposed AIB agreement states that the project qualifies for an exemption and caps development at 50MW of IT capacity and 65MW for the whole facility. A county public notice schedules a hearing on the agreement for November 3.

The draft anticipates $1.2 billion of investment by the company and its tenant. Its proposed obligations include at least $400 million of capital investment, at least 28 full-time jobs directly or through sublessees, and $12.6 million in community benefit payments over the initial 12-year term.

AIB had disclosed plans to repurpose the site before the moratorium was adopted. Its second-quarter filing says the existing 40MW mining hosting operation was de-energized on June 5 after falling Bitcoin prices made hosting uneconomic. It had not resumed hosting as of August 13, while development of the AI campus was proceeding independently.

The filing also records the June 25 change of name from BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure to AIB Data Centers. Its Spartanburg operations sit within wholly owned subsidiary One Blockchain, while AIB CLT1 LLC was formed as the project company.

AIB is led by Jerry Tang, who also leads TigerDC.

As DCD previously reported, TigerDC withdrew its separate $3 billion Project Spero proposal in Spartanburg County in February after officials rejected a tax incentive agreement. That proposal envisaged an initial 100MW phase at a separate site.