The pledge at a Monday town hall from the St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corp. — a rare, early concession from a city board — did little to quell a groundswell of opposition to the project from residents who worry the high-tech facilities could raise energy costs, worsen pollution and divert tax revenue to wealthy corporations in exchange for few jobs.
Residents’ deep distrust of global technology companies also is fueling opposition as the companies engage in a multibillion-dollar race to scale infrastructure as part of a boom in artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
“These tech billionaires are using you,” resident Rachel Hurtado told the crowd during the town hall. “They don’t care about the working class. They’re replacing human jobs with computers.”
THO Investments, led by local developer Rod Thomas, wants to build an 84,000-square-foot data center at 500 Prospect Avenue, a vacant parking lot that served visitors of the old St. Louis Armory, just south of Interstate 64 near Grand Boulevard, before the entertainment venue abruptly closed last year.
The development team has said a data center would generate more than $213 million in tax revenues over 10 years and employ 30 people in St. Louis at an average salary of $130,000, calculations it says have come from researching other facilities around the country. An executive order by Mayor Cara Spencer last month requires the team to answer 44 questions regarding energy use, jobs and impact on neighbors before it can go before the city’s zoning board for a permit.
The team said it has no immediate plans to turn the Armory itself into a data center.
Thomas in an interview this week acknowledged the idea of putting a data center in the Armory building initially was floated when he entered into negotiations with owner Green Street Real Estate Ventures a year ago before deciding to focus on the vacant lot.
The proposed facility would utilize access to multiple fiber providers and a nearby power substation, which provides 130 megawatts of electricity. The developer plans to implement a “closed-loop” system to recirculate the water it uses to cool equipment rather than disposing of it.
Thomas also envisions the project could become the first phase of an office tech district in which the Armory would host multiple offices and data servers. Other buildings to the west that Green Street owns could be redeveloped into other offices and uses, he said.
“It could just be dynamic,” Thomas said. “It’s right next to universities, medical centers and Cortex tech district. They have unlimited amenities at City Foundry. It’s a great opportunity.”
He will have to do it without some of the incentives previously promised to Green Street, the Armory’s owner.
Brooks Goedeker, executive director of the Midtown Redevelopment Corp., told residents at the town hall Monday that the developer had not sought incentives from his organization and that it also would not support a tax abatement for a data center at the Prospect Avenue site. He did not say why.
“We’ll hold you to that,” one resident shouted.
Midtown Redevelopment, Goedeker said, has no say on other incentives, including special data center tax credits from the state of Missouri and previously approved tax increment financing.
Thomas’ development team this week said the TIF would have to be amended if a data center is approved because it does not conform with the original plans for the site, which could mean excluding the Prospect Avenue site from the TIF altogether.
That seemed to offer little conciliation to opponents.
Hundreds of residents attended both Monday’s town hall and a virtual event held last week, most overwhelmingly against any data center.
“We want people over profit,” said Scott Will, an activist with the St. Louis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “How many jobs have been lost to automation?”
Opponents at both meetings said they wanted the city to focus more on rebuilding north St. Louis after the May tornado than court data centers that opponents say would only benefit tech companies. Others were concerned that a proliferation of data centers could lead to more environmental problems
“A lot of sins have been committed against this city,” said Alex Westjohn, referring to the radioactive waste at Coldwater Creek in St. Louis County.
Opponents also expressed concerns that residents would be forced to pay for new infrastructure to build the facility and the additional energy usage by the facility.
Ameren Missouri’s business development executive, James O’Mara, said new state legislation requires data center users to pay for all upfront costs and sign a service agreement that would not shift burden on to residents.
Cecilia Dvorak, co-managing principal of THO Investments’ consultant Steadfast City Economic and Community Partners, said the development team would consider residents’ concerns as it complies with the mayor’s executive order.
“I understand there’s really no trust between us and the community,” Dvorak said.
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND THE DEBATE OVER THEM IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA
From St. Louis to St. Charles, the topic of data centers has generated debate and controversy. Here's a look at the key issues.
Investor behind Armory data center plan pulls out of St. Louis hearing
Officials said the developer wanted more time to comply with Mayor Cara Spencer's new executive order regarding data centers.
St. Louis investor plans to turn the Armory into a data center
The potential Armory redevelopment could be the first project to test the city's new rules on the high-tech facilities.
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