A proposed data center near the Arden community in western Palm Beach County has prompted months of debate over its environmental impact and proximity to homes and a school, leading to revisions ahead of a July 15 zoning board meeting.

THE ACREAGE, Fla. — A proposed data center near the Arden community in western Palm Beach County has sparked months of debate over its proximity to homes and a school, as well as concerns about noise, water usage, and power consumption, prompting revisions to the plan ahead of a July 15 zoning board meeting.

"We changed the plan to come in with five different warehouse buildings in the part of the property that's closest to the Arden community," said Ernie Cox, project manager for PBA Holdings Inc.

The revised plan includes expanding the data center buildings from just over 1 million to 1.5 million square feet and relocating cooling equipment to reduce noise levels.

"What we've done is we've moved the cooling equipment further to the west, and most of that cooling equipment is actually going to be inside of another concrete building to reduce the potential of sound impact," Cox said.

According to a noise study, the closest homes to the project will experience noise levels of about 45 decibels, below the county limit of 60 decibels.

While data centers typically use massive amounts of power, a law signed previously known as Senate Bill 484 last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis prevents utility companies, such as Florida Power & Light, from passing increased electricity costs on to residents.

"Florida Power and Light is the provider for both the residential and the industrial. Florida Power and Light just recently finished a rate case, and so there's a special tariff for large users where the large users have to pay not only for the electricity they use, but they also have to pay for the infrastructure to deliver the electricity," Cox said.

Water usage has also been a major concern, as most data centers use millions of gallons of water daily for cooling systems. However, Cox said the cooling systems for this project will use a "closed loop," meaning the water will be constantly recirculated.

"Arden uses about 500,000 gallons a day, plus irrigation. The cooling system here won't use any water every day, but the buildings, the human beings that are in there working in the center, will use about 5,000 gallons per day," Cox said.

The 202-acre property is owned by multiple entities, including PBA Holdings, which owns 127 acres; WPB Logistics Owners LLC, which owns 60 acres; and the Central Park Commerce Center's Property Owners Association, which owns the remaining 15 acres. The projected power demand for the site is 600 megawatts.

"This site was specifically identified as one that would be appropriate for data centers, warehouses, other light industrial uses. And then because of the buffering that was put in and the berms, better to take out an asphalt plant, replace it with something that's going to be less industrial than what's out here today," Cox said.

The tech company behind "Project Tango" remains undisclosed due to a nondisclosure agreement signed by Cox. "There's a lot of competition out there between these technical companies, and they're competing all over the country, all over the state, all over the world. And so, until we've actually got the building built and they're putting the computers in the building, we can't talk about that," Cox said.

When asked if he would live near the data center given the new information, Cox said, "With all the information I know? Yes, and one of the things we've been trying to do is to share that information with people so that they can understand it. This operation will be quieter and cleaner than the asphalt plant that we have here now."

Cox said he and his team are continuing to listen to residents who still have concerns and are offering tours of the site ahead of the July 15 zoning board meeting. During the meeting, Cox plans to present the proposed changes and request additional square footage for the buildings.