Hundreds of residents throughout southwest Atlanta turned out in droves Monday night at the Georgia State University Convocation Center to debate a data center development being planned for their community.
The project, which would be built near the West End MARTA station, has led to divisiveness amongst new and legacy residents in the southwest neighborhoods of Adair Park, Mechanicsville, Pittsburgh, Peoplestown and Summerhill. This has triggered an ongoing debate around land use and who has a seat at the table when it comes to the rapid development happening in Atlanta.
These neighborhoods, which make up Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit V, took a vote on Monday to help determine the fate of the data center development, which is being proposed by Digital Realty, a real estate investment group that has established data centers across the country.
The community’s vote comes at a time where Atlanta has become one of the fastest-growing destinations for data centers in the country and as communities throughout the state have started to push back against this boom due to environmental impacts and rising energy bills.
Over 200 people came out to the NPU-V meeting Monday to have their say on the project. Shouts, cheers, and laughter echoed throughout the basketball arena as the meeting ran an hour past its set conclusion of 9 p.m.
Although the vote ended with the majority rejecting the data center 105-87, how this battle ends is still to be decided. NPU-V’s vote against the data center will be taken into consideration by the Atlanta City Council when the legislation makes its way to the full council.
Opponents of the project cited concerns related to the energy and water consumption that a data center can use and also wished to see the land utilized for things like affordable housing to help support ridership at the nearby MARTA station. Those in favor of the data center said they were hopeful about the possible jobs and economic revenue the project could bring to many historically Black neighborhoods that have lacked investment over the years.
Yoseif Reid, a Pittsburgh resident, was in favor of the project and voted to push the data center forward. Although those in opposition to the project won, he said he appreciated the “citizen participation process.”
“What you saw here tonight is the hallmark of our democracy, and it’s not pretty, but it usually prevails, and it’s usually correct,” Reid said.
What’s in the legislation
The proposal would alter a city ordinance that bans data centers near transit hubs and the Beltline. The amendment would create an exception to the ban for the area that the project would be located in.
The proposed legislation is sponsored by City Council members Antonio Lewis and Eshé Collins. Lewis drafted similar legislation for the project in 2024, but it was defeated after opposition from residents in Adair Park and an intervention by Mayor Andre Dickens.
The current legislation includes the addition of some retail space as well as limits on the size, energy use, and type of water system a data center in this area can use.
And while the data center is being planned specifically in the boundaries of Adair Park — whose residents have remained staunchly opposed to it — Collins said that the main driver for putting the legislation back on the table was to ensure that all communities in the southwest area have a say on whether the project should proceed.
“While I understand that this has been a very controversial conversation, tough conversation, the one thing that has been clear is the necessity for all communities to provide feedback. I understand … that the impact zone is in Adair Park, but where the property is also located is a stone’s throw away from Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh as well,” Collins said at the meeting.
Delvin Davis, president of the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Association, told Capital B Atlanta earlier this year that although NPU-V collectively voted to deny the legislation in 2024, the developer had previously focused the majority of its outreach on Adair Park. But after the legislation was defeated, the developer began to increase its community engagement with other southwest neighborhoods.
“Legacy residents who had been in the area for many, many years … have seen that that area has always sort of been a dead zone,” Davis said. “There were some thriving moments decades ago, but it’s always been a dead zone and so they finally saw an opportunity to have some type of development over there that will allow us to generate more taxes and allow the community to actually benefit from a space that could be accessed by community members.”
Regina Agoruah, a Peoplestown resident, said she’s worried that putting a data center in the area would create extra burden for the historic Black neighborhoods in the city. She said it could put increased pressure on the local infrastructure due to higher energy and water demands.
“We want to ensure that our families, homes, and local businesses are being given the consideration and protection they deserve,” Agoruah said.
Ahead of the NPU-V meeting, the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Association and Mechanicsville Civic Association voted in favor of the legislation on the condition that a Community Benefits Agreement — a contract between developers and community members that outlines certain investments the developer will provide to the surrounding area — be established. Neighborhood associations in Peoplestown, Summerhill, and Adair Park voted against the legislation in their prospective meetings.
While individual neighborhood groups’ opinions are taken into consideration for the NPU vote, the NPU vote itself is the one that has weight and standing with the city council.
What’s next for the project?
In a post made in a private neighborhood Facebook group for Adair Park residents, one resident posted a recap of the meeting and challenged community members to hold Collins “accountable” for making statements around upholding community feedback on the legislation.
“She has repeatedly claimed she sponsored this legislation only to ensure full community input, and that she neither supported nor opposed the data center. That process has now played out, and the community’s position is clear. We should expect her to withdraw her sponsorship, and if she doesn’t, we need to hold her accountable,” the resident posted.
In the comments, Collins wrote, “yes, I’ve been very clear on that point. Please stay tuned!”
Davis, the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Association’s president, said he believes that if Collins rescinds her support of the legislation, he’d be shocked if it passes in a City Council vote.
Collins did not immediately respond to Capital B Atlanta’s request for comment.
As for now, the legislation will be taken up by the city’s zoning review board next month where the board will make a vote and recommendation on the legislation.
While community leaders have differing opinions on the data center itself, they could agree that whatever happens now, residents can use the civic momentum generated by the data center debate to continue to get city council representatives to act on the wants and needs that residents have expressed throughout this process.
“We can’t retreat and say, ‘OK, we gave you a vote,” Davis said. “I think we have to still be a part of the process … how can we be good partners in helping our representatives understand more that these are the things that we need and this is why we need them. … So that’s why I’m optimistic that we can get something done, and I think council will follow us.”
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