Birmingham grants 30-year tax abatement for AI data center
Birmingham's Industrial Development Board granted Nebius Inc. a 30-year tax abatement for its controversial AI data center in Oxmoor Valley, despite previous claims by Mayor Randall Woodfin that no incentives were offered. The project has faced public pushback, lawsuits, and a temporary city-imposed moratorium on future data center projects, which was later replaced by a new regulatory ordinance.
Birmingham's Industrial Development Board has approved a 30-year tax abatement for AI cloud company Nebius Inc.'s data center project in Oxmoor Valley, granting a 65% abatement on non-educational ad valorem taxes and an 80% abatement on construction-related transaction taxes. This decision comes despite Mayor Randall Woodfin's earlier statements in April that the city had not offered any incentives to Nebius.
The data center project has been met with controversy and public opposition, leading to lawsuits and a six-month moratorium on future data center developments imposed by the City in March. While the moratorium, which was replaced by an updated regulation ordinance on June 13, did not affect Nebius's initial filing, the company did withdraw an additional permitting request due to the new regulations.
Nebius spokesman John Sutter confirmed that economic incentives were a "key factor" in the company's decision to invest in Birmingham, projecting an annual tax revenue of $87 million for state, city, county, and schools from the multi-billion-dollar investment. The specific approval date of the incentives remains unclear, and attempts to contact Mayor Woodfin and board members for comment were unsuccessful. Construction on the data center is anticipated to continue through 2028.