Data center blocked? A rare move by Metro could stop proposal near Nashville Zoo

A proposal from Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell could effectively halt a data center planned near the Nashville Zoo. 

The mayor filed legislation Monday to seek eminent domain on the property where the company DC BLOX wants to construct a facility. 

“Metro has a legitimate need for this property. I have carefully followed the concerns from the community and the Zoo and also remain deeply concerned about the proposed use,” O’Connell said in a statement. 

The data center has spurred considerable pushback, with concerns ranging from a lack of transparency to noise pollution that could affect animals. More than 500,000 people have signed a petition supporting the zoo, and many folks spoke against the project during a recent public hearing on Metro Nashville’s proposed legislation to regulate data centers and enact a temporary moratorium. 

“I go to the zoo on my birthday as a grown man every year. I love these animals dearly,” said Nashville resident Hani Latif.

DC BLOX is behind the project, with plans for a 270,000-square-foot facility that would require 50 megawatts of electricity divided between two buildings. 

The data center would not support the use of artificial intelligence. Instead, it would serve as a connectivity hub between consumers and larger data centers, according to marketing vice president Bill Thompson.

“If you can imagine making a request on your mobile phone, that mobile phone goes to a cell network to an underground network to reach a data center to serve that particular transaction,” Thompson told WPLN last week. 

DC BLOX has a $23 million contract to purchase the land from development firm MarketStreet Enterprises in July.

But the latest move by the mayor could stop the project via eminent domain, which is, broadly, the ability of the government to legally seize private property and convert it to public use. If the legislation is enacted, the city would be able to buy the property. 

“That the mayor is considering filing eminent domain legislation for this industrial-zoned site is likely driven by the misinformation about this project that has overwhelmed and distorted the public discussion,” DC BLOX said in a statement Monday.