Out-of-town developers, led by private equity firm Revitalization Unlimited of Miami, have proposed a 20-story data center in downtown Kansas City.

Located at 934 Central St., this data center will require the demolition of the 1900-built Western Newspaper Union Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Often, data center harms largely outweigh any benefits the community may see from such development. The tech corporations, utilities companies, and developers profit off data centers, while residents face rate hikes, noise and air pollution, and an overall decrease in their quality of life.

According to Revitalization Unlimited's business model, it is also entirely possible that this development proposal is being leveraged for a tax scheme to benefit their investors. If so, the private equity company is taking advantage of our city's lack of protections against predatory data center development to build their personal wealth with our city's resources. Either way, we lose.

If the development advances, it will be serviced by KC Water and Spire, powered by natural gas fuel cells and backup diesel generators. The development will likely be loud with the architect also noting the building will release heat and water vapor due to the power and cooling systems. These create many possible consequences such as noise pollution for nearby residents, increased temperatures in that area, increased cost of living, and the cascading impacts of the climate crisis that these types of development contribute to.

In order for this development to move forward, it will first go through the City Plan Commission (CPC) who will choose whether or not to advance it to City Council for final approval. Therefore, when this data center goes before the CPC on August 5th, they need to know that Kansas Citians do NOT support this development.

Email the CPC now before July 29th to ensure your voice is heard before the public comment window closes.

Make a plan to show up and give comment at 9am on Aug. 5th at the CPC meeting in person at City Hall, 414 East 12th St., 10th floor Council Committee Room or virtually on Zoom.

Follow Sunrise KC and KC Data Center Watchdog for additional information and next steps.