Cleveland rejects permit application for $1.6B data center in Slavic Village
News Clip0:58WKYC Channel 3·Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH·5/14/2026
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced the city's rejection of a permit application from Lakeland Equity Group for a proposed $1.6 billion data center in the Slavic Village neighborhood. The mayor expressed serious concerns about hyperscale, standalone data centers in residential areas.
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Gov: City of Cleveland, Mayor Justin Bibb
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced Thursday that the city has rejected a permit application by Lakeland Equity Group to construct a proposed $1.6 billion, 35-acre data center in the Slavic Village neighborhood.
Bibb made the announcement on social media, but did not provide any specifics as to why the permit was denied. However, a spokesperson for the city said the mayor has "serious concerns about hyperscale, standalone data centers in neighborhoods."
On May 5, Lakeland Equity Group applied for the permit for the site at 3560 East 55th Street, stating that it viewed the data center project "as a rare opportunity to create positive economic momentum and a significant number of jobs on land that is currently underutilized."
FULL COVERAGE: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/cleveland-data-center-slavic-village-permit-rejected-lakeland-equity-group-mayor-justin-bibb-hyperscale-east-55th/95-283bcf74-9d60-4563-b63c-6edd1a193198