Inver Grove Heights: Contentious data center proposal moves forward
The Inver Grove Heights City Council approved a site plan for QLevr to build a roughly 54,000-square-foot data center at the former Travel Tags site. The approval followed the city’s amendment of its data center moratorium after QLevr sued, with the developer agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit.
The Inver Grove Heights City Council approved QLevr’s site plan for a data center on a 13.9-acre property at 5890 Carmen Ave. The facility would begin at 3 megawatts and eventually reach 5 megawatts, with a closed-loop cooling system and acoustic screening intended to reduce noise. The property is zoned Limited Industrial, which city officials said permits data centers.
The decision followed QLevr’s lawsuit in Dakota County District Court challenging the city’s yearlong data center moratorium. The city amended the moratorium after attorneys warned that the case could expose taxpayers to more than $20 million in liability, and QLevr agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. Mayor Brenda Dietrich and council member John Murphy helped advance the site plan, while Council Member Mary T’Kach was the sole vote against it. The project still requires an approved development contract and building permit, and the moratorium remains in effect until next June.