Farmington City Council set to vote on data center

By FOX 9 Staff
Published  December 2, 2024 12:48pm CST
FOX 9
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Farmington data center has residents concerned

The aging owners of the Fountain Valley Golf Course are looking to sell their 160-acre property and retire. But, the potential buyer has applied to rezone the residential land as mixed use commercial and industrial, in order to build a data center.

The Brief

    • The Farmington City Council is expected to approve a contract on Monday bringing a large data center to the city.
    • The project has been in the works for months and has faced significant public pushback.
    • The data center campus would be built on the Fountain Valley Golf Course property and two lots of land that are currently in Castle Rock Township.

FARMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Farmington, Minn. City Council members are set to vote Monday on a contract for a new data center in the city.

What to know

Discussions surrounding the data center have been ongoing for months. During its Nov. 18 meeting, the council approved plans for the final plat for the Farmington Technology Park contingent on the council approving a contract with the developer.

The vote on that contract is scheduled for Monday night.

Background

The technology park would be built on the Fountain Valley Golf Course property along Highway 50 on the east side of Farmington and neighboring lots owned by the school district. The golf course is on land that was annexed by Farmington in 2007 while the other lots are in the neighboring Castle Rock Township.

Earlier this year, Farmington council members voted to annex that land from Castle Rock under a standing agreement between the municipalities. Despite the agreement, the township appears to be considering its options to respond to the annexation, including potential legal action.

The approved plat includes up to 12 data center buildings along with two administrative buildings with a north and south campus. Access to the northern campus would be from Highway 50 and the southern end would have access from 225th Street West.

It's unclear which company or companies will utilize the data center. The development is expected to occur in phases. If approved, the developer expected to start work in the next couple of years with the full buildout taking six to seven years.

Pushback

The project has faced plenty of pushback from residents. During the Nov. 18 meeting, residents expressed concerns ranging from the council pushing ahead with the project despite the public opposition from neighbors and the potential for litigation over the annexation.

Speaking with FOX 9 earlier this year, residents also raised concerns about how the new campus would change the character of the area.