North Loop residents question developers over proposed data center at former Star Tribune site
A packed community meeting Wednesday in Minneapolis' North Loop focused on a potential data center at the former Star Tribune printing plant.
Arlington, Virginia-based Legacy Investing, which also converted the Sleep Number building into a data center, is under contract to purchase the 13-acre printing site and the parcels next to it. The company does not yet own the building.
Developers said they wanted to hear from residents about what they want to see in their neighborhood.
Residents, however, said they came to the meeting expecting more information from the developers. Some said the developers were not prepared to provide details needed for residents to meaningfully weigh in.
Questions focused on power, water, and noise impacts. Developers say this data center would be a relatively small site. They said water use would be comparable to that of a few homes.
Residents also wanted to hear what developers would do with the adjacent parcels. The North Loop Neighborhood Association (NLNA) pushed for a legally binding agreement that would commit the developer to mixed-use development.
The association did not act Wednesday on the conditional use permit due to a lack of information provided by Legacy Investors. They also requested a one-month delay to the planning commission hearing so that NLNA committee members can gather needed information, answer community questions, and delay the committee vote until their scheduled meeting in September.
Last month, the Minneapolis City Council approved a five-month pause on data center development. The pause that applies to data centers in downtown that are less than 350,000 square feet.
City leaders say they are looking at data centers as a way to recover the city's tax base. In a statement, the mayor's spokesperson said, "A bigger vision with multiple uses is needed for the Star Tribune site — while the Mayor is open to a data center being one of those uses, it can't be the whole thing."