Westlake data center plan sparks backlash from Keller neighbors

Another data center announcement is making waves in North Texas.  

Last week, the city of Westlake announced that it would be building a new data center.

What's different this time is that it wasn't Westlake citizens who are unhappy about the decision; it's folks who live over in Keller.  

"It's been a real nice neighborhood to live in," said Keller resident Kevin Myers, "And everybody is friendly, and you know, this is a place we wanted to be."

Pleasant is a word that comes to mind when you look at the Marshall Ridge development in Keller.  

It's exactly what Myers says he and his family were looking for.  

But last week, an announcement on social media was anything but pleasant for Myers.  

"My initial reaction was I kind of couldn't believe it," said Myers. 

He found out from a Facebook post that a data center would be built, just on the other side of his fence.  

"They made a big deal about how the closest resident of Westlake would be just under a mile. What they didn't tell anyone was that it was going to be just a few hundred feet from our property lines," said Myers. 

Not very neighborly if you ask Myers.  

"Well, we feel it was kind of done in a vacuum, you know and kind of in a shady manner," he said. 

Now, both Keller and Westlake seem to be playing the blame game.  

On the project's website, the city said: "Contrary to recent assertions that this project came as a surprise, the proposed data center was discussed openly and collaboratively more than a year ago."

The former mayor of Keller said on Facebook that he did attend that meeting, but "At the time, we understood that Hillwood had only recently been approached by a developer, and the concept was presented merely as a possibility."

On Monday, the city of Westlake provided an additional statement saying: 

"The December 2024 discussion was a courtesy meeting with Keller leadership. During this meeting, the data center project was presented. It was an informational meeting only. Westlake did not seek Keller's approval or support, but at the end of the meeting, no opposition from Keller officials was raised."

Lots of finger-pointing, lots of blame, not a lot of solutions for Myers and his neighbors.  

"We're not against them building a data center in Westlake, but what we're really hoping for, I'd say the majority, is that they give us the same courtesy they give their own residents and move that thing close to a mile away from us," said Myers.