SIGNALDATAInsights. For the People.
Preview
Data center campus · 601 Walnut St., downtown Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee

Jailhouse Studios (former Hamilton County Jail)

Approved as of March 18, 2026

A film, music and technology redevelopment of Chattanooga's vacant county jail that includes a data room capped at 12,000 square feet, the part that drew a public petition. Also known as: Urban Story Ventures data center, Hamilton County Justice Center, 601 Walnut Street.

Cite← Tennessee data centers
Anderson CountyBedford CountyBenton CountyBledsoe CountyBlount CountyBradley CountyCampbell CountyCannon CountyCarroll CountyCarter CountyCheatham CountyChester CountyClaiborne CountyClay CountyCocke CountyCoffee CountyCrockett CountyCumberland CountyDavidson CountyDecatur CountyDeKalb CountyDickson CountyDyer CountyFayette CountyFentress CountyFranklin CountyGibson CountyGiles CountyGrainger CountyGreene CountyGrundy CountyHamblen CountyHamilton CountyHancock CountyHardeman CountyHardin CountyHawkins CountyHaywood CountyHenderson CountyHenry CountyHickman CountyHouston CountyHumphreys CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJohnson CountyKnox CountyLake CountyLauderdale CountyLawrence CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLoudon CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMaury CountyMcMinn CountyMcNairy CountyMeigs CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMoore CountyMorgan CountyObion CountyOverton CountyPerry CountyPickett CountyPolk CountyPutnam CountyRhea CountyRoane CountyRobertson CountyRutherford CountyScott CountySequatchie CountySevier CountyShelby CountySmith CountyStewart CountySullivan CountySumner CountyTipton CountyTrousdale CountyUnicoi CountyUnion CountyVan Buren CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWeakley CountyWhite CountyWilliamson CountyWilson CountyJailhouse Studios (former Hamilton County Jail) · Approved
PowerNot statedNot reported in the records found
Floor area12,000sq ft
Site0.75acres

Who is behind it

ProjectJailhouse Studios (former Hamilton County Jail)Also: Urban Story Ventures data center, Hamilton County Justice Center, 601 Walnut Street
Developer and teamUrban Story Ventures (through Jailhouse Properties, LLC (lease party))
End userLocal 3 names The STEM Practice Company, an Oracle partner, and says the project could involve Oracle

The record, newest first

  1. The commission adopted Resolution 326-17 authorizing the lease 11-0, after adding by an 11-0 vote a 12,000-square-foot limit on data storage and a 1.5% workforce contribution. (Hamilton County Commission, March 18, 2026; Urban Story Ventures, March 18, 2026; Local 3 News (WRCB), March 18, 2026; WTVC NewsChannel 9, March 20, 2026)

  2. Speakers raised concerns on the lease's transparency, its economic effects and labor; the county attorney said the draft lease was open for public review. (Hamilton County Commission, March 11, 2026; Hamilton County Attorney, undated)

  3. A resident asked commissioners for a separate public meeting or a delayed vote, pointing to a petition for more public input; project partners described the data room as 10 racks fed from the grid. (Hamilton County Commission, Jan. 14, 2026; Local 3 News (WRCB), undated; Data Center Dynamics, undated)

  4. The developer publicly described the site as a data processing and AI center with a campus for creators, built on many small sites using a fraction of a large data center's power. (Urban Story Ventures, Jan. 9, 2026)

  5. Jimmy White and Kessler Cuffman presented the project to the County Commission, saying it needed a lease of the building and no county tax dollars. (Hamilton County Commission, Jan. 7, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Petition counts differ: 612 signers filed with the clerk (minutes, Jan. 14), more than 700 (Local 3), nearly 900 on Change.org (DCD).
  • The 12,000 square feet is the cap on data use inside a 142,000-square-foot, eight-story building; 0.75 acres is the lot size reported by DCD.
  • Rack count of 10 dates from January 2026 and was given by a project partner, before the cap was set.
  • Sources differ on when the jail closed: 2020 (county mayor, via the developer's post) or 2021 (DCD; Local 3 says the building has been vacant since 2021).
  • Hamilton County's one-year pause of July 2026 covers unincorporated areas and not projects in incorporated cities such as Chattanooga, according to WDEF; this site is in downtown Chattanooga. WTVC's story on the pause mentions the project but does not say whether the pause touches it.
  • The adopted resolution's own PDF was not read; the vote comes from the commission's minutes.
  • Coordinates are approximate, from the reported address.

The full record

Status note
The County Commission approved the lease 11-0 with data use capped at 12,000 square feet; no record of construction starting was found.
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
Under 50 MW (outside main scope; kept for completeness)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.