A Massive Data Center that abuts Port Charlotte? |
A North Port project with Port Charlotte implications under consideration. |
Port Charlotte Residents:A Massive 83-Acre Data Center Less Than One-Tenth of a Mile From Your Neighborhood?
If you opposed Buc-ee's because of its potential impact on traffic, the environment, or quality of life...Check out THIS.
The City of North Port is now considering how to regulate large data centers, including whether the city should temporarily pause approvals while it studies the potential impacts and develops a regulatory framework. And the location that should get the attention of Port Charlotte residents is on North Yorkshire Street.
According to records from the Sarasota County Property Appraiser, North Port Holdings 300 LLC owns several adjoining parcels there, including a massive 83.4-acre vacant commercial parcel.
That property sits only a few hundred feet from the Charlotte County line — roughly one-tenth of a mile at its closest point.
Let that sink in for a moment.
The project would technically be inside North Port. But some Port Charlotte residents could actually live closer to it than many thousands of people who live inside North Port. Think of a giant warehouse filled not with merchandise, but with thousands of computer servers running around the clock. These are the facilities that help power cloud computing, streaming services, artificial intelligence, online banking, social media and much of the Internet most of us use every day.
Why Port Charlotte Residents Should CareOrdinarily, a development approved inside North Port would be considered North Port's business. Geography makes this one different. The largest Yorkshire Street parcel contains approximately 3.63 million square feet of land and is classified by the Property Appraiser as vacant commercial property.The broader Property Appraiser search shows seven adjoining or related parcels owned by North Port Holdings 300 LLC in this immediate area.
And because that property lies just a few hundred feet from the Charlotte County line, nearby Port Charlotte residents could be among the closest neighbors to whatever ultimately gets built there. It means Port Charlotte residents have a very good reason to pay attention to a decision being made by a city government they don't live in.
North Port residents have started to rally and protest before the City Commission Meeting. But we all know City Commission meetings have a history of being unpredictable and short sighted.
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If you live in Port Charlotte, the most important number in this story may not be 83 acres. It may be one-tenth of a mile.
Because sometimes your most important new neighbor doesn't even actually live in your county. |
27 Comments
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One tenth of a mile is closer than some of my neighbors houses are to each other on the other side of the development. That proximity should matter to the commission.
Thank you for covering this. I would never have known to look at what North Port was doing. Our local news sure wasn't talking about it.
Becca HollowaySame here. I stumbled onto this through a neighbor and not through any local TV or paper. Kind of says a lot about where local journalism is right now.
The traffic piece alone is a problem. Those facilities need constant deliveries, equipment trucks, service vehicles at all hours. Yorkshire is not built for that.
I moved here from Tampa to get away from this kind of stuff. Peaceful neighborhood, quiet streets. An 83 acre server farm is not what I signed up for.
Curious if anyone has actually confirmed a data center company is involved or is it still just zoned commercial and people are speculating?
Carl_SWFLFrom what I've read the LLC name and the parcels being assembled like that pretty strongly suggest it's not just random commercial speculation. But fair point, an actual confirmed name would help.
The part that gets me is we don't even get a vote. North Port Commission decides and we just live with whatever they approve. That feels wrong.
I keep seeing people say data centers are harmless. Go stand outside one at 2am and tell me that humming and that light glow is harmless.
Joined the FB group Robin started. Good to see neighbors actually organizing for once instead of just complaining online.
Debra W.Same. It's easy to vent in a comments section but actually showing up and organizing is what moves the needle. Hope the turnout stays strong.
How does a company just quietly buy up 83 acres right on the county line and nobody raises a flag until now. Where was the oversight.
Tony_1127That's what gets me too. Seven parcels quietly assembled and we're only hearing about it now. Makes you wonder what else slips through without anyone noticing.
My cousin lives in Virginia near one of these big data centers. She said the property values around it dropped and nobody wants to buy close to it. Just something to think about.
Phyllis MoranoThat's actually really useful to know. Did she say how long it took before the effects were noticeable or was it pretty immediate once construction started?
I went to look up that property appraiser link and wow. Seven parcels. This has clearly been planned for a while and nobody said a word publicly.
Dave R.Yeah those parcel records tell a pretty clear story. That kind of land assembly takes time and coordination. This didn't happen overnight.
The cooling towers on these facilities use a shocking amount of water too. With our water issues in Charlotte County that concerns me just as much as the noise.
To be fair, data centers do bring jobs and tax revenue. I'm not saying I love the location but let's hear the full picture before we panic.
Bob TrentinoThat's a fair point and worth hearing out. But the jobs usually go to specialized tech workers who aren't local, and the tax revenue doesn't always flow back to the neighborhood dealing with the downsides.
I was against Buc-ees for the traffic reasons and now this? Yorkshire Street can barely handle what it has now.
jenna m.Exactly what I was thinking. Yorkshire already backs up badly during season. Adding construction traffic on top of that before anything even opens is going to be rough.
These data centers run 24 hours a day and they are LOUD. The cooling systems alone sound like a jet engine that never turns off. Ask anyone who lives near one.
Ok so North Port gets to make all the decisions but Port Charlotte residents deal with the noise, the traffic, the lights running all night? That seems really unfair.
Terri_PCflThat's exactly the problem with county lines. The benefits go one place and the impacts land somewhere else. Happens all the time and residents have almost no recourse.
83 acres is enormous. That's not a small server room, that's basically an industrial campus sitting on the edge of our neighborhood.
I live right off Yorkshire and had no idea this was even being considered. One tenth of a mile is basically my backyard. How is this the first I'm hearing about it?