{"id":69043,"date":"2026-06-05T19:21:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=69043"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:21:42","slug":"lakeland-could-become-a-data-center-hotspot-according-to-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/06\/05\/lakeland-could-become-a-data-center-hotspot-according-to-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakeland could become a data center hotspot, according to developers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The conversation surrounding Lakeland and Polk County becoming a data center hub has intensified dramatically, driven by massive regional energy demands for AI and cloud computing.<\/sup> However, developers trying to stake a claim in Lakeland are hitting a brick wall of intense community pushback and strict regulatory scrutiny.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flashpoint for this debate is “Project Swan,”<\/strong> a proposed 550,000 to 600,000-square-foot hyperscale data center on roughly 60 acres near Old Tampa Highway and Wilkinson Road (right next to the West Lakeland Wastewater Reduction Facility).<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a land developer involved in assembling the site publicly noted that the area has long been eyed for industrial use and that modern, fast-evolving “closed-loop” cooling technology could mitigate resource strain, the project has hit a massive roadblock.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major Roadblocks Facing the Project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  • Zoning and Code Violations:<\/strong> In a comprehensive 13-page review, Executive Planner Audrey McGuire noted that Lakeland\u2019s Land Development Code does not explicitly list data centers as a permitted use, meaning they are presumed to be prohibited<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Voluntary Cancellation:<\/strong> Following a packed City Commission meeting where over 50 residents turned up to protest, engineering consultant Kimley-Horn abruptly canceled a key Development Review Team meeting. While an administrative error briefly marked the project as “withdrawn,” it remains inactive but technically alive while the developer weighs its options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Power and Water Burden:<\/strong> Unlike a 4.4-million-square-foot mega-project already moving through approvals south of us in Fort Meade, Project Swan is smaller, but local residents are fiercely protective of our infrastructure. Lakeland Electric has introduced incredibly stringent criteria for data centers to protect local ratepayers, including:\n
      \n
    • A minimum 15-year electric service agreement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A guaranteed monthly bill equal to at least 80% of contracted capacity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A security deposit equal to 2.5 times the average monthly bill.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The developer must pay 100% of all utility studies and infrastructure upgrades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Environmental Concerns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      The proposed site is a mix of open pastureland, agricultural parcels, and existing residential homes.<\/sup> Furthermore, parts of the property touch FEMA-designated floodplains and wetlands, meaning any future attempt to revive the project will require independent, extensive studies covering noise pollution (from massive HVAC and chiller systems), water quality, and traffic impacts before it can ever be annexed into the city.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      For now, city officials emphasize that the ball is entirely in the developer’s court, and a final decision or public hearing is still months away\u2014if it happens at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The conversation surrounding Lakeland and Polk County becoming a data center hub has intensified dramatically, driven by massive regional energy demands for AI and cloud computing. However, developers trying to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDVcL2Rvd25sb2FkLTIzLndlYnA_Zml0PTI5OSUyQzE2OCZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6Ikxha2VsYW5kIGNvdWxkIGJlY29tZSBhIGRhdGEgY2VudGVyIGhvdHNwb3QsIGFjY29yZGluZyB0byBkZXZlbG9wZXJzIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.Hzmjifap9dP7JRAXHRIMQokUukYSW_deLEmA11wSERAMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA1XC9kb3dubG9hZC0yMy53ZWJwIiwidHh0IjoiTGFrZWxhbmQgY291bGQgYmVjb21lIGEgZGF0YSBjZW50ZXIgaG90c3BvdCwgYWNjb3JkaW5nIHRvIGRldmVsb3BlcnMiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.TN1IfDpWixiDTWJa_BSKTjmwfAVhQDeowd32ZJb-rDQMQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[14780,14779],"class_list":["post-69043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-according-to-developers","tag-lakeland-could-become-a-data-center-hotspot"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69047,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69043\/revisions\/69047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}