More details emerge on Cleveland data center

Lakeland Equity Group, a Westlake-based company, has submitted plans for a $1.6 billion, 150-megawatt hyperscale data center in Cleveland's Slavic Village. The project, which would include three buildings totaling 300,000 square feet on a 35-acre site currently owned by Morabito Enterprises, is being expedited to secure city approval before the Cleveland City Council potentially enacts a moratorium on new data center construction by May 25. Lakeland Equity asserts that the facility will feature significant investment in electrical grid enhancements and utilize closed-loop cooling technology, which will reduce water consumption by 80-90 percent. They anticipate creating 1,500-2,000 temporary construction jobs and 65-115 permanent high-skill positions. However, the proposal faces considerable opposition from city officials, including Mayor Justin Bibb, who voiced support for the proposed moratorium, and Ward 15 Councilman Charles Slife, the moratorium's author. Concerns include the project's environmental impact, the city's ability to manage rising utility costs, and the current zoning code's inadequacy in differentiating between small data services and large-scale data centers, potentially hindering the city's financial reliance on income tax revenues.