A major economic development effort in Columbia has flamed out and has been sold in a foreclosure sale on the Boone County Courthouse steps. Three years ago, the state certified a 270-acre industrial site as “shovel ready” for a data center, but it remains vacant. A Chillicothe bank that gave developers of the site a $5 million loan has bought the property for $4.75 million.           

The bank says it will market the area appropriately.