Following backlash from St. Louis residents, Board of Aldermen President Megan Green said a temporary ban on data center proposals is not off the table if concerns about the projects are not answered.
Green’s comments came after news that a conditional use hearing Thursday for a $600 million data center proposal at the shuttered Armory site in Midtown had been postponed.
City zoning staff said Tri-Star Properties, which hopes to purchase the property, requested a continuance this week. Green said the developers needed more time to comply with Mayor Cara Spencer and the board’s new rules on data center hearings.
Green warned that if questions about data centers aren’t answered through the process, previously tabled discussions on a temporary ban could continue.
“The executive order was issued in lieu of a moratorium, and I and several colleagues remain open to that option should community concerns remain unaddressed,” Green said in a statement. “If we are serious about inclusive growth, we must make decisions with, not just for, the communities we serve.”
Spencer signed an executive order creating a more stringent process for conditional use hearings for data centers and tasking city staff with researching concerns about the projects over the next six months. She said St. Louis will work on a thoughtful framework for incorporating data centers into its zoning and water codes.
However, Green said decisions about the project mostly rest with St. Louis University and the Midtown Redevelopment Corp. and not the city, due to a redevelopment plan passed in 2017. She urged the two bodies to hold public hearings on the matter.
“Residents and surrounding businesses deserve the opportunity to voice their concerns directly to the entities driving this project,” she said.
Tri-Star’s request for a continuance comes a day after Alderman Michael Browning called the project “shortsighted” in an open letter. He said the project would reverse progress made in the Midtown area near the Foundry and Cortex district.
“I do not think we should throw out our planning practices in exchange for temporary jobs and vague promises,” he said, questioning the true economic value of the project.
Tri-Star Properties asked the city for a conditional use permit to build and operate two data centers — one inside the armory and another on its current parking lot.
The developer hopes to buy the Armory building from fellow developer Green Street. The building has been empty for a year.
Previously, St. Louis Planning and Urban Design Agency Executive Director Don Roe wrote a letter warning that the city's nearly 70-year-old zoning code cannot adequately manage the complex land use concerns brought by data center projects.
Green said her office received dozens of complaints from residents since last Friday over data centers in the city and, specifically, the Armory data center proposal.
“Concerns have ranged from transparency and environmental impacts to potential utility rate hikes and the effect on our urban fabric,” she said. “A significant portion of residents are opposed to data centers altogether.”
