The City of Cleveland has rejected a permit application to build a $1.6 billion data center on a 35-acre site in Slavic Village, though the city offered no details about why it was rejecting it.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb made the announcement on several of the city’s official social media accounts, including its Facebook account. Bibb’s office, which appeared surprised by the permit and the scale of the project, said in a statement that the application failed during zoning review.
“Mayor Bibb has serious concerns about hyperscale, standalone data centers being placed in residential neighborhoods,” the satement said.
Bibb used a 45-second social media post last week to ensure city residents that he’s paying attention to concerns about data centers.
The permit, filed May 5, described plans for a two-story, 300,000-square-foot “state-of-the-art, hyperscale facility.”
The Lakeland Equity Group is behind the project, according to the permit. Its managing director, Sam Khouri, did not respond to a call or email seeking comment but the company issued a statement Thursday evening.
“Lakeland Equity Group is disappointed by this abrupt action by the city,” the statement said. “We are considering our options for immediate next steps. We look forward to continuing to work with local government officials and community residents to help everyone consider this important, job-creating project’s merits.”
The proposed $1.6 billion project would be built in Council Member Deborah Gray’s Ward 3. It would also sit near Kevin Bishop’s Ward 2 and Richard Starr’s Ward 5, both of which include parts of the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood.
Cleveland City Council Member Charles Slife, of Ward 15, introduced legislation in late April that would put a moratorium on new data centers for a year, but the legislation is still being discussed.
This story was updated to include a statement from Mayor Justin Bibb’s office and from Lakeland Equity Group.
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