Residents in North Richland Hills are pushing back on a proposed data center that developers hope will bring jobs and tax revenue to the city.
Provident Data Centers, the developer proposing the project, is planning a two-story, 330,000-square-foot facility on Rufe Snow Drive at the site of a former outlet mall.
Jack Backes, principal strategist for Provident, shared details of the project on Tuesday to a room filled with hundreds of residents of the north Tarrant County suburb.
“We have the opportunity to take a building that has really reached the end of its useful life,” Backes told residents. “It's now almost 45 years old, and [we want to] give it new life and redevelop it into a data center.”
Backes acknowledged that data centers are a charged topic. Provident held the meeting to address residents’ concerns over the potential cost to their quality of life.
The project is at the beginning of an application process that could take months.
Resident concerns
A majority of residents at the meeting said they oppose the new project. Many brought up issues with large-scale data centers in other parts of the state, including communities south of Tarrant County.
Following a presentation, Backes answered questions from several residents about the project.
“Say hypothetically every person in this room like we took a vote right now and everyone said ‘no, I don't want this data center,’” asked Taylor Stevenson. “Would you still continue with that?”
“I think I'd have a lot of questions about that process and about the due process involved in that,” replied Backes.
“That sounds like you still would,” Stevenson said.
Backes couldn't confirm who the tenant would be at the proposed site, which was another concern raised by residents.
Stevenson told KERA that she’s worried about the impact of data centers on the city’s aging population, including her mom. A recent study found the increased air and noise pollution stemming from data centers can have a negative effect on the health of nearby residents.
“I'm concerned for how the data center would have environmental effects on her and other people in the area, and even families too, young families,” Stevenson said.
Luke Carnevale and his family live near a data center under construction on Wuliger Way, blocks from Provident's new proposed project. He said his son, who has autism, is sensitive to noise.
“So really for us, that's the number one concern is," Carnevale said. "Because, how is it going to affect him?”
Residents also raised questions about the number of jobs the facility will create and studies on its environmental impacts.
City and developer response
Backes tried to assure residents that noise from generators won’t be an issue at the proposed facility. He said it will reuse water in a “closed loop” system and could actually lower electricity costs for neighbors.
“Provident has developed in North Texas for nearly four decades,” Backes told KERA in a statement. “We intend to be here long-term, contribute to the tax base, and be good neighbors to North Richland Hills.”
The facility is expected to contribute between $300 million and $1.2 billion in tax revenue to the city, Birdville ISD and Tarrant County’s health system. Provident still needs to undergo an application process that requires public hearings before the planning and zoning committee before it goes before the city council.
Mayor Jack McCarty said in a Facebook post that he after hearing both sides of the debate over the new facility, he would oppose the project.
“Data centers near any residential areas in NRH is not what I want for our community,” McCarty wrote.
The city is considering additional regulations regardless of size or zoning district. That could include separating data centers from warehousing, implementing a 250-foot buffer zone from residential areas and banning any cryptocurrency operations as a primary use.
Other North Texas communities are considering or have put in place similar regulations as more data centers are built around the region: Mesquite city officials are working on tighter restrictions, and Hill County recently adopted new requirements after dropping a proposed moratorium on data center projects.
Meanwhile, North Richland Hills City Council member Matt Blake said he’s not advocating for data centers, but for reasonable arguments about the Provident facility. He attended the meeting and wrote a Facebook post addressed to residents earlier this week.
“If someone wants to oppose this project because they don't want data centers in North Richland Hills, that's a legitimate position,” Blake said. “But if the argument is based on claims that don't apply to the actual project being discussed, then we're no longer having an honest conversation.”
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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