How a Small Wisconsin Town Stopped a Data Center Backed by Eric Adams
Residents of Wisconsin Rapids organized opposition to a proposed data center project backed by PNK Group and associated with former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Community pressure and concerns about rushed development appear to have stopped the project before construction began.
Hell Gate reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler examines a proposed data center development in Wisconsin Rapids on the site of a former paper mill. The project was pursued by PNK Group, described in the report as a Russian billionaire-backed company expanding from warehouse development into data centers, while local officials saw the site as an opportunity to restore the city’s property-tax base and attract new business after the mill’s decline.
Residents questioned the project’s credibility and said city officials were moving too quickly without providing enough information. Opposition intensified after Eric Adams appeared at community events connected to the proposal, with residents accusing the developers and their representatives of underestimating local resistance. Community members said they supported responsible economic development but wanted a project that would be a durable and appropriate fit for nearby neighborhoods. Local opposition appears to have doomed the proposal before construction started.