City leaders in Broken Arrow said Thursday they’ve been approached about a potential data center development on the city’s east side.
Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon broke the news to KRMG, saying a site selector working for an unnamed company has requested a pre-development meeting.
“Based on the conversations and controversies surrounding data centers in several other Tulsa and Wagoner County communities, we wanted to be completely transparent about the fact that a site selector has requested a pre-development meeting.” Spurgeon said on the KRMG Morning News with Skyler Cooper.
Spurgeon said city officials were first notified by the Broken Arrow Economic Development Corporation on April 21st about the potential project, dubbed “Project Astro.” He said that pre-development meeting would be the first time the site selector, representatives from the company and city officials would discuss zoning standards, building regulations and other aspects of planning. He said the meeting could happen in the next 4 to 8 weeks.
The city said it would prioritize transparency during the process and Spurgeon vowed he and other city officials have not and would not sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) related to the potential project.
“We do not know who the company is.” Spurgeon added.
The location of the possible data center would be on 51 acres of land between the Creek Turnpike and Highway 51 at about 81st and 209th East Avenue in Wagoner County.
The land is privately owned and developing a data center at the site would require it to be rezoned from Agricultural to Industrial Light. The city said if talks move forward, that process would play out first in a public hearing at a Planning Commission meeting, then if approved there, a public City Council meeting would occur.
To date, the city said no meetings have occurred between city officials and company representatives and there have been no discussions about incentives or assistance from the city.
“This is not the city’s data center project, it’s not on city property, we did not recruit them.” Spurgeon noted. “This is someone that is someone that is interested in possibly making an investment in our community.”
Broken Arrow officials said they would begin a review of infrastructure needs to support a data center including coordinating with the power and water providers and looking at nearby roads, potential environmental factors and public safety.
Click here to listen to City Manager Michael Spurgeon on the KRMG Morning News with Skyler Cooper
