Data Centers

The “Project Swan” proposal remains active. The applicant only withdrew from the scheduled June 3 Development Review Team meeting, not from the development review process.

The proposal is for a 600,000-square-foot data center.

More than 50 residents attended Monday’s City Commission meeting, despite a city effort to explain that the project remains in the earliest stages of review.

The 600,000-square-foot “Project Swan” concept raises questions about power, water, zoning, and whether the city code even allows data centers.

Across the state’s heartland, communities such as Indiantown are weighing proposals for hyperscale data centers. The massive facilities would reshape Florida’s rural lands.

A proposed AI data center complex in rural DeSoto County is drawing sharp debate as local officials embrace it as a potential economic lifeline while residents warn about environmental and quality-of-life impacts.

The new law was part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to impose regulations on AI. The other plank of his plan, aimed at protecting consumers from AI harms, failed to draw full legislative support.

“Data centers aren’t a job creator,” said Kathleen Peters, who reported staff has been approached with a proposal to build one along Gandy Boulevard.

Plans for a 200-acre data center in Okeechobee County, about 60 miles west of West Palm Beach, have been scrapped amid widespread opposition against such projects.

State officials warn the project’s water use may be underestimated, adding pressure to an already strained regional supply.

Anger over the data center boom has spilled into politics with voters unseating local politicians who support them. It's become an issue hard to ignore in the midterm elections.

Data centers typically house thousands of servers for tech and AI companies and require significant resources to operate.