Some neighbors say a Palm Beach County data center is too much. What's actually proposed.

Project Tango representatives, including project manager Ernie Cox, are providing further details on their proposed 200-acre data center and warehouse site in northern Palm Beach County, Florida, ahead of a crucial county commission vote in July. The project, located west of Loxahatchee Groves near the Arden neighborhood and Saddle View Elementary School, has faced strong community opposition. Residents have expressed concerns about potential environmental impacts, noise pollution, and excessive water and electricity consumption. The opposition led to a postponement of a county vote from December to April, and then again to July, to allow time to address these issues. In response to public feedback, Project Tango has revised its plans. The proposed data and information processing space has been reduced from nearly 1.8 million square feet to slightly over 1 million square feet, with a corresponding increase in warehouse space. The data center buildings have also been relocated farther west on the property. Cox highlighted measures to mitigate concerns, including using a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water usage and designing buildings to minimize noise to around 50 decibels, well below the county's 75-decibel industrial limit. He also assured residents that the project would not impact their utility bills. Despite the revisions, residents like Ben Brown, secretary for the Arden Homeowners Association, maintain that the project is too large and incompatible with the residential and rural character of the area. Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs plans to visit the Arden community to gather facts before the July vote, emphasizing the serious environmental and community implications of the decision. If approved, Cox suggests the facility will blend in like an office park, aiming to meet the growing demand for data processing in South Florida due to the influx of banking and financial institutions.