Developers of the Project Tango data center in Palm Beach County addressed community concerns, highlighting zoning compliance and adjustments to the site plan

THE ACREAGE, Fla. — Developers of the Project Tango AI data center in Palm Beach County hosted a webinar Wednesday to address community concerns and share updates, including adjustments to the site plan and details about the project’s impact.

The land for the data center is already approved for industrial zoning and is located next to major power infrastructure. Developers announced changes to the initial site plan, moving the data center building 2,000 feet away from Arden community homes and Saddle View Elementary School, a distance equivalent to about five and a half football fields.

"This gives you an artist rendering of what these would look like if you were standing on the Arden firm today," said Ernie Cox, a Project Tango developer. "What you would look at is you’d look across the site to see the power plant and the cooling towers in the back."

Noise and water consumption were among the primary concerns raised by residents. Developers stated that data center equipment will be housed inside enclosed buildings, and noisy equipment will be relocated to the west side of the building, farther from Arden communities. They projected sound levels at the property to be below 50 decibels.

"A normal conversation between two people talking of a distance of about 3 feet would be 60 to 65 decibels, and then light traffic tends to be on the order of 50 decibels," said acoustical engineer Mark Bastasch.

Regarding water usage, developers said the data center will consume 5,000 gallons per day, significantly less than the Arden community’s daily usage of 500,000 gallons. The project will use a closed-loop system, reuse the same water and will not discharge offsite.

"The FPL power plant that’s next door uses reclaimed water. That is an evaporative cooling system, I believe that permit is for up to 25 million gallons a day, and that’s how they do the cooling for the power plant. We’re not using evaporative cooling," said Ernie Cox, a Project Tango developer.

Earlier this week, Arden community neighbors and parents expressed opposition to the location of the data center, citing concerns about its impact on the area.

Developers also stated that the data center will not affect residents’ electric bills or increase rates. However, when asked about concerns regarding reduced property values in Arden and nearby western communities, developers did not provide a response just yet. Some community benefits they listed were: Expands tax base, high-skill jobs, and supports local economy.

Palm Beach County commissioners plan to discuss the data center at their next meeting on April 23. The project is still under a multi-agency review. Developers say the timeline for this project is 2 to 5 years.