Another data center is slated for construction in the Greater Phoenix area.
The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to approve a data center plan from EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure that slices the firm’s original proposal nearly in half, Bisnow and the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The Denver-based data center developer agreed to cut down the proposed project to 1.2 million square feet from 2.1 million square feet.
This iteration of the data center calls for two multi-story buildings each spanning 618,480 square feet, as well as generators and 197 parking spaces on site. EdgeCore’s original plan consisted of three separate buildings and a 350,000-square-foot substation for Arizona utility company Salt River Project. EdgeCore owns the roughly 90-acre site at the southeast corner of Elliott Road and Everton Terrace in the Eastmark neighborhood where the project would rise.
The approval comes after the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board voted last July for new regulations governing data centers and where they could be built. The revised rules restrict future data center projects to land that is already zoned for industrial use. Mesa officials were reportedly concerned about losing land that could be utilized by aerospace, bioscience and innovation companies, which would employ more residents in the area, according to Bisnow.
EdgeCore’s project isn’t subject to the ordinance because its initial application dates back to January 2024. It added to its holdings at the project site last May when it bought approximately 44 acres of land for the development, known as EdgeCore Mesa North Campus, from a Brookfield Properties affiliate for nearly $44 million, according to the Business Journal.
The board’s approval requires EdgeCore to limit generator testing to the hours between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The data center developer is reportedly also required to install four murals on each of the buildings. Because of the site’s proximity to Mesa Gateway Airport, any proposed permanent or temporary structures on the site are subject to a filing for review by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The project will go before the Mesa City Council for consideration. A timeline for construction and completion has not yet been confirmed.
— Chris Malone Méndez
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