(Site of proposed data center in Ardmore.
Proposed Ardmore Data Center Project Withdrawn by Developer
The developer of a proposed data center in Ardmore has withdrawn the application for approval from the city.
The city’s Community Development Director Jessica Scott told the city commission she wasn’t sure why the project was no longer on the table. The commission was prepared to vote on the project this week.
“The application is dead,” she declared to the commissioners.
Planning Commission Previously Rejected Rezoning Request
The Ardmore city planning commission voted 7-0 last month against the request made by JRE Strategies LLC to rezone nearly 7 acres. Neighborhood residents and the Noble Foundation based in Ardmore voiced opposition to the request.
The request from JRE Strategies LLC to rezone 6.74 acres from RS-6 (single family residential) to IL (light industrial) was voted against in a 7-0 vote by the planning and zoning commission during a February meeting. The vote came after neighborhood residents, and the Noble Foundation had spoken against the proposed rezoning.
Local opposition centered on concerns about how a data center could affect nearby residential areas, including potential impacts related to land use compatibility, infrastructure demand, and the location of an industrial-scale facility within a neighborhood zoning district.
Project Details
As originally explained in its request, JRE Strategies indicated the project would involve a 10 megawatt data center and would employ advanced cooling and sound-mitigation technologies.
Data centers have increasingly become part of economic development discussions across Oklahoma, but they can also prompt debate at the local level regarding zoning classifications, land use planning, and infrastructure capacity.
The withdrawal of the application means the proposal will not move forward for a vote by the city commission, leaving the future of the proposed Ardmore data center project uncertain.
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