"Near-Universal" Opposition To Gigantic AL Data Center; Now Developer Wants Another 900 Acres Rezoned As Industrial
BESSEMER, Ala.—Logistic Land Investment LLC, the developer behind Project Marvel, a $14.5 billion proposed data center project in central Alabama, will request the rezoning of an additional 900 acres of land from agricultural to light industrial use, according to a Bessemer city council member. Cleo King, who represents District 7, said in an interview Wednesday that city attorney Aaron Killings informed the city council at Tuesday’s meeting about the request. Killings said the newly rezoned land would allow the developer to assuage concerns over a possible conflict with the Northern Beltline, a road project that may impact the project site.
In November, a majority of the Bessemer City Council approved the rezoning of nearly 700 acres of agricultural land in the city, which is located just southwest of Birmingham. Logistic Land Investment is owned by TPA Group, an Atlanta-based developer. Residents who live near the proposed data center site have been nearly universally opposed to the project, which if built to full capacity would include 18 buildings the size of Walmart Supercenters and consume a massive amount of water and electricity.
King said that he is wary of the project and its impacts; he was one of two council members to vote against the previous rezoning. “I continue to be skeptical of this process,” he said. King said that instead of pushing through rezoning proposals without engaging meaningfully with residents, Bessemer should be taking a more thoughtful, measured approach to vetting Project Marvel. He pointed to Birmingham, which is considering a moratorium on data center development, as a better example of how local governments should approach the issue.
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At Tuesday’s meeting, Killings also suggested that the rezoning of additional land would provide the developer the opportunity to avoid some of the potential environmental impacts of the project. Rosenboom said that argument doesn’t fly with her. Developers have previously said the data center’s construction would cause no environmental impacts, though experts have disagreed. “If there’s no environmental impact, how would this newly rezoned land mitigate an impact that doesn’t exist?” Rosenboom asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14012026/bessemer-alabama-data-center-to-ask-for-additional-900-acres/