CHARLOTTE — A company wants to build a 40,00-square-foot data center facility on a plot of land along Hood Road in east Charlotte.
Some residents are concerned about water bills and the environment, even though American Tower Corp., the company behind the project, said it would have a positive impact.
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“I think there is overwhelming opposition to this data center,” said Jeffrey Shen, who opposes the proposed data center.
Shen lives near Hood Road in east Charlotte and is part of the local Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The group started a petition, which has over 3,200 signatures, to try to stop the proposed data center.
“They also raise people’s utility bills,” he said. Electricity bills, water bills, and people are already struggling to make ends meet.”
PSL is organizing a community meeting next Saturday to rally support.
The Charlotte City Council will hold a public hearing on the rezoning request on April 20.
American Tower Corporation told Channel 9 in a statement, in part," American Tower is investing in technology that strengthens local connectivity while thoughtfully using an existing tower site that has long been part of the community. Our proposal does not expand the site’s overall footprint ... This facility would strengthen local and regional connectivity by providing a shared, sustainable infrastructure that replaces multiple on-site server rooms with a more efficient and secure solution, reducing operational and environmental impact."
City council member Dimple Ajmera said the proposal faces many obstacles, including water and electricity usage.
A residential area is more likely not the right place for a facility, such as a data center, she said. Ajmera is calling for a pause on all data center requests in residential areas.
“This is not about being anti-growth,” she said. “It’s about smart growth that respects our existing communities, our neighborhoods, and our natural spaces. That’s why we must get this right.”
Another concern is that the land is also about a mile away from the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve.
Shen said protecting nature is a top priority for this community.
“These data centers, they use a lot of toxic chemicals in their cooling system,” Shen said. “If that leaks, and those systems can, and they have in the past, those chemicals are going straight into the surrounding community. Going straight into the nature.”
This data center would be a much smaller-scale operation than other data centers, which have been proposed in our area.
For example, the footprint for the center would be about one acre. The now-denied data center that was proposed in Matthews would have been 123 acres.
Full statement from American Tower:
“American Tower is investing in technology that strengthens local connectivity while thoughtfully using an existing tower site that has long been part of the community. Our proposal does not expand the site’s overall footprint. If approved, the requested rezoning would allow for the addition of a small‑scale data processing facility next to the tower—far smaller than the large data centers often discussed in the media. The building would be approximately 2% the size of a hyperscale data center and would use about 2% of the power those require. The project is designed with sustainability and neighborhood impact in mind, including the use of closed‑loop cooling systems that do not draw from the local water supply and use 99.99% less water per day than hyperscale facilities. We understand and respect that residents may have questions about how this project would look and operate and we are committed to addressing those concerns through careful design, clear permitting standards, and ongoing engagement with the community.
“This facility would strengthen local and regional connectivity by providing a shared, sustainable infrastructure that replaces multiple on-site server rooms with a more efficient and secure solution, reducing operational and environmental impact. It would improve connectivity for the Charlotte-area community, supporting businesses, schools, healthcare providers, and public safety organizations, as well as supporting faster emergency communications and greater network resilience. The design features discrete one-story modules within the existing site, very low traffic, minimal on-site staffing, and heating and cooling noise comparable to standard office systems.”