Cleveland rejected a permit Thursday for what would have been the largest hyperscale data center in the city.
Developer Sam Khouri was eyeing 35 acres between Slavic Village and the Industrial Valley for the $1.6 billion data center campus. The permit's proposal said the project would require 150 megawatts — equivalent to the energy usage of more than 100,000 residential homes.
Khouri, managing director at the Westlake-based Lakeland Equity Group, submitted the proposal just a week after a council member introduced legislation that would put a one-year moratorium on data center permits in the city to assess zoning codes and other development guardrails.
"Something needs to be regulated at the local level so that we're not ending up in problematic situations down the road because we're trying to kind of build the train as it was going down the tracks," Councilmember Charles Slife said.
Public outcry in response to the proposal was immediate, with council members and residents speaking out against the plans and organizing an upcoming rally in opposition.
The city has not provided details on its reason for rejecting the permit for the dormant truck yard at 3560 E. 55th St. just east of Interstate 77. A city spokesperson said it did not make it past the zoning admin review.
The developer promised "secure, resilient digital infrastructure" that would create "significant local investment and long-term technical jobs," according to the permit application.
"As our city grows and technology changes, we're going to keep seeing new kinds of development come our way and that comes with real questions about our neighborhoods, our environment, our quality of life," Bibb said in a social media video after news of the proposal broke. "We are doing the work right now to make sure we have strong policies and real safeguards in place to protect our environment and address rising utility costs."
More than 200 data centers are in Ohio, according to a widely used industry resource, Data Center Map. 22 of those are in the Cleveland area.
