Prichard data center gets site plan approval as developer addresses community concerns - NBC 15
News Clip2:45NBC 15·Prichard, Mobile County, AL·10/1/2026
The Prichard Planning Commission approved the site plan for Edged’s proposed $93 million data center on Telegraph Road, clearing a major development step. Residents had raised concerns about the facility’s size, noise, water use and community impacts, while the developer said the project’s building permit was issued before the city’s six-month data center moratorium took effect.
zoningoppositiongovernmentwatermoratorium
Gov: Prichard Planning Commission, Prichard City Council
After weeks of debate, the proposed Edged data center in Prichard now has site plan approval. The approved site plan is the latest step toward development of the proposed $93 million data center on Telegraph Road.
The planning commission gave the project the final green light Tuesday afternoon. Real estate attorney Doug Anderson represents the developers, and says today's vote clears up one of the biggest questions surrounding where the project stands.
“We received our building permit before the moratorium was passed by the city council, so the moratorium didn't affect this project," Anderson said.
That building permit was issued July 30th. Days later, on August 4th, the city council approved a six-month moratorium on data centers, but in between, questions surfaced over the city's approval process. The project had not gone before the planning commission for site plan review before the building permit was issued. Anderson says once that was discovered, developers agreed to come back and complete the process.
“After they gave us the building permit, the city realized that they didn't have us come before the planning commission before they issued the building permit," Anderson said. "So, we agreed to come back even though we have our building permit.”
The approval comes after weeks of residents raising concerns during public hearings and city council meetings, including questions about the size of the development, noise, water use and its potential impact on the surrounding community. Anderson says he wants to put some of those concerns to rest, starting with the size of the facility.
“This facility is the size of one football field," Anderson said. "The one my client has in Atlanta is the size of 20 football fields, and so this is a very small data facility."
Anderson says the entire site is about eight acres. He says plans include a retention pond for stormwater drainage, and outdoor generators positioned behind a 16-foot wall. Anderson says the developers have also taken steps to address concerns about noise, water use and pollution.
"The noise is non-existent," Anderson said. "It doesn't create a lot of noise. We had a sound analysis done and submitted that to the city. We use our own water, we will not take water from the Prichard water system, no pollution, no emissions because it's not a manufacturing facility."
Anderson says developers can break ground on the center "any day now". He says construction is expected to take 18 months to complete.
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