Was reaction to a potential data center near Old Town San Diego overblown?
San Diego officials and residents have sharply criticized Manchester Financial Group’s potential data center near Old Town, although the company says it is only one option for redeveloping the former NAVWAR-area property. Mayor Todd Gloria directed staff to advance a temporary moratorium, and the City Council agreed to pass a 45-day moratorium while experts debate the project’s potential economic benefits and impacts on electricity, water, noise, housing and the environment.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria ordered city staff to advance a temporary moratorium on new data center development after lawmakers condemned Manchester Financial Group’s potential plan for a facility near Old Town. The City Council agreed to pass a 45-day moratorium, though the article notes that city action may not prevent development on the federal NAVWAR property.
Manchester has emphasized that a data center is only one of several redevelopment options for roughly 60 acres near Pacific Highway and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command site. Economists, business advocates and other contributors argued that opposition is premature because no formal proposal has been submitted, while critics cited the potential facility’s estimated 400-megawatt power demand, water use, noise, environmental effects, housing trade-offs and possible impacts on utility rates. Several contributors called for detailed review, zoning safeguards and mitigation measures rather than categorical approval or rejection.