On July 23 at 5:30 pm in council chambers, Frankfort Plan Commission is holding a public hearing on the proposed 718 acre data center north of the Frito-Lay plant in Frankfort. This has generated a lot of discussion since KNS broke the story on Friday. It has also prompted some editorials to KNS management. These are encouraged on any topic in our community. There will be a uniform way to submit these very soon. In the meantime, please send them to Kevin Keith via Facebook Messenger. You can include your name or remain anonymous. This resident chose to remain anonymous:
Kevin Keith
July 14, 2025
This will be less opinion and more of a plea to our elected officials at the city and the county level. Every community, big and small, needs a plan to guide policy making. The plans need to be well thought out and defined. Maybe in the plan there is a ‘Big Idea’ for the future. These plans will vary from city to city, region to region, state to state. When creating a path forward, officials should keep in mind what is important to the community. Knowing what is important will help to guide the growth of an area. Without having set priorities for a city based on what is important to its citizens, there will be backlash.
Lexington, MA is known for the ‘shot heard around the world’ or the start of the Revolutionary War. People came from around the country and possibly the world to visit the historic homes and battlegrounds. Keeping the historic nature of this village is also important to its citizens. The elected officials make their zoning ordinances reflect these values. When a Dunkin’ Donuts wanted to be in the historic district, that big corporation was given a specific set of building parameters to match the historic feeling of the area. Dunkin’ Donuts did not get to throw out their large corporate dollars to have the ‘rules’ changed for them. No. they built strict building codes in that area. Elected officials can still capitalize on getting revenue for their cities, but they have more control in how it is done.
What is important to our community at the city and county level? Many years ago, the McBarnes administration stated that bringing in ‘young professionals’ in the STEM fields was very important to the growth of Frankfort. The term ‘Young Professionals’ became a very polarizing term. It was apparent that part of the population was not in agreement. Maybe they felt like they were being pushed out of a community that they love. It is a delicate balance to keep everyone happy, and it may not even be possible.
That was then, this is now. Now we are at a point of growth that could go very well or very badly. For example, look at the city of Lebanon to the south of us. Profits versus community engagement has created a huge mess! It is unreasonable to believe that Frankfort and Clinton County will stay the same forever. However, the type of growth can be controlled. It starts with the growth goals of the citizens of the community. It is very apparent in our area that preserving farmland and peaceful rural areas are important. However, our community has a very robust factory corridor. The factories are great. Each facility has a wide range of job types with different skill sets. I cannot recommend getting rid of the factories and never having another be built.
So how do we strike a balance with growth but also preserving farm ground. We can use other communities as examples of what or what not to do. First a good look at the corporations that are wanting to build in our area. Some companies value profits over people, community, and environment. Also look at the type of jobs being created. With technological advances, a big investment in the community may not actually bring in quality jobs. Do these jobs provide benefits: sick leave, vacation, health insurance, etc.? Once again, if a community has a well thought out plan using the input of its citizens, growth is possible. It will create a place that people want to Work, Live, and Play as they say. To anyone reading this, please attend council and commissioner meetings when possible. Make your comments known to the officials by writing or talking to them directly. They may not always see your ideas or complaints online.
I am not going to pretend to know a lot of information on the environmental hazards of these large centers. I do know they need a lot of electricity and water to keep their servers from overheating. I have not looked at the data to really see how data centers have changed communities for the good or the bad. I do know that if decisions that are made in haste, it can affect our community and environment in ways that will be hard to reverse in the future. Or at least, it will come with a big price tag.
In my previous writing, I mentioned that elected officials need to examine the corporations and investors before just approving. It may take a little more time, but it will truly benefit our community to not make decisions in haste. Also, many times people put pressure on you so that you will not find out the things that might be hiding in the weeds. A few months ago, by happenstance, I came across the data center mockup and description on the website – Logistixpg.com. The Data center was listed with a long list of projects that Logistix Property Group claimed as their work. At the time I did not think much of it. I had not heard anything about it, so I figured it was just a ‘pipe dream’ and it would not happen.
Fast forward to this last week, to my surprise the local Facebook groups were exploding with people wanting more information. Logistix Property Group slipped into our community without knowing and received approval from the BZA. (I do not know what was approved with the BZA. I have not come across this information). However, it is very publicized that they will be meeting with Area Planning on the 23rd of July at 5:30 pm. Everyone should attend if you can.
Some people are excited about this investment due to the technology that will be brought to the area. Others are upset with the loss of farmland, possible environmental hazards, and the loss of peace due to noise pollution. I am not here to discuss environmental issues. My biggest concern is the company that wants to build in our community. Above I mentioned Logistix Property Group (logistixpg.com). Under the project drop down menu, this data center is listed at the top. Under it includes thirty-one more properties. Some are very impressive projects, like the ConAgra building. Very impressive! Also stated on the website, they have 30 years of experience. A company would need 30 years to have all these projects under their belt. So far, so good.
Let us get a good look at the team. Under the Team menu, you will see Douglas Swain as the President. By clicking ‘Read More,’ you will see a list of companies that he worked at. He was Vice President/General Manager at Opus Development Company and Senior Director National Real Estate Solutions at Exel (DHL) Supply Chain. This is just a couple of places. He also lists some highlights of his work at these companies. Jackson Forbes is listed as the Development Director. He joined the company in 2023. He graduated from college in 2021 with a study of real estate studies at the College of Business and the University of Cincinnati. In the profile, a couple of workplaces are mentioned but not to the extent of the president’s bio. It is funny how there seems to be a lack of experience considering he is the Development Director. Instead, he lists that he enjoys golfing and visiting new local breweries. I am not trying to date you, I want to see your work experience.
Let us move on to the Development Manager, Patrick Swain. My hypothesis is that this is the president’s son since he has the same last name. Once again, he graduated in 2021 with a finance degree from Indiana University. He also joined the company in 2023. He was a summer intern at Opus Development Company. Other than that, nothing is really listed about his career before joining Logistix Property Group.
Let us move down the screen to the corporate address listed – 11339 Avant Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45249. When copied into Google Maps, the location is a house in a residential neighborhood. There is a school behind the property. It is a bit strange to see a large corporation with thirty plus years of experience listing their address and it is a home. Also, two of the three employees listed under ‘Team’ are very young with little experience with impressive titles. To me a company building a data center should not have an address in a residential area. Maybe it just me.
Next let us go to the LinkedIN page of Mr. Swain. Many business people will use this social media site to show off their business talents, list their accomplishments, and employment throughout the years, it is kind of like a public resume for many. I found Douglas Swain with the founder of Logistix Property Group listed at the top of his profile. It has the exact same picture as is on his profile on the corporate site. If you scroll down to his experience and education, you will see that he attended The Ohio State from 1984-1989 and received a Bachelor of Science in Finance. His work experience is as follows: Leasing Manager @ Heitman (9/91-5/96), Account Executive @ Staubach Company (6/96 – 12/97), VP Operation @ First Industrial Realty Trust (1/98 – 10/08), Sr. Director pf Real Estate Solutions @ Exel (DHL) (5/09-13), VP & General Manager @ The OPUS Group (4/13 – 12/21), Sr. Vice President of Development @ Mohr Capital (12/21-1/23), Chief Development Office @ Corporex Companies (1/23 – 11/2023) and lastly Founding Member of LOGISTIX PROPERTY GROUP (11/23- Present). Did you catch that? If the company has 30+ years of experience, how can the company be less than 2 years old? How did the company amass thirty-one projects in 2 years?
Good questions, also the two young men also joined the company in 2023. Not a coincidence in my book. Data Centers are not your ‘mom and pop’ family business. With the scale of this project, it is inconceivable that there are only three employees with a home office. To me the website is misleading with the phrases ‘we completed the full project….’ I went online and found the developers for 5-7 projects. I started with ConAgra since that is in our backyard. ConAgra was developed by Opus, not Logistix, and finished in 2015, However, it is should be noted that Mr. Swain worked for Opus during this time, per LinkedIN.
I have researched a small few of the thirty-one properties, but not the whole list. However, these are the projects that I did find. Opus Development was involved with the Atkins Distribution Center (2021) & Anson Business Park (2022). I was able to find 13 of the 31 projects on the Opus Development site. Exel (DHL) was involved with Excellence Way (2010, Pfizer leased back the building to Exel). I would not be surprised if more of the listed projects were developed by other companies during the time of Mr. Swain employment at said company. To me, listing these projects as your newly formed company is deceitful at best. The website is written as such to make the reader believe Logistix has been a company for 30 years. Let us be clear, the President has 30 years of experience working for other large corporations. He does not have 30 years of owning a business. Running a business and working for an established one is not the same thing. His employment record is impressive, and one should be proud of that. However, the corporate site should reflect that these are projects that the president worked on during his career. People do leave their high paying jobs to start companies. That is not strange but claiming these projects as your own – just plain wrong and deceitful.
I am going to leave you with one last thing. This company is also projecting themselves as a corporation involved with real estate transactions. A good friend of mine is a realtor. Doug Swain received his Ohio realtor license in 2023, but it expired June 2025. Apparently, June is when all your yearly continuing education is due. Your license becomes inactive when the education is not completed. Jackson Forbes (graduated in real estate) also has an inactive license in Ohio. However, Patrick Swain does have his active license in Ohio.
Anonymous Citizen