ST. LOUIS — The development team behind a proposal to build a data center at the Armory site in Midtown will host two town halls to share more information with the public.
Rod Thomas of THO Investments has filed plans with the city to build a roughly 93,000-square-foot data center at 500 Prospect Avenue, a vacant parking lot that served visitors of the Armory entertainment venue, just south of Interstate 64 near Grand Boulevard.
The project would be one piece of a broader redevelopment plan THO Investments says will cost $1.5 billion and generate more than $213 million in tax revenues over 10 years, though the developer has not yet shared how he calculated that figure.
The growth of artificial intelligence and other technology has spurred a new boom in data center development across the country. Critics, however, say large-scale data centers employ few people and can be a drain on a community’s energy and water resources.
THO also could convert the Armory building itself into a data center, though those plans have yet to be filed with the city. Thomas had signed an option to buy the former National Guard building from Green Street Real Estate Ventures to redevelop it as a data center, real estate documents show.
The first town hall is set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 9 via Zoom. The second is slated for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall on Chouteau Avenue.
“We recognize that data centers raise important questions and a need for deep understanding,” said Doug Rasmussen, CEO of Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners, a development consultant working on the 500 Prospect project. “We will share the development plans as they stand today and invite and encourage feedback. Our goal is to listen, respond and incorporate input into project level commitments that reflect and achieve community priorities and outcomes.”
The proposal to turn the Armory complex into data centers has received pushback from residents and Alderman Michael Browning, who called the proposal “short-sighted and ultimately detrimental.” Browning’s 9th Ward borders the Armory.
The project could be the first to test the city’s new rules on the high-tech facilities. Mayor Cara Spencer issued an executive order last month requiring data center developers to answer more than 40 questions regarding energy use, jobs and impact on neighbors.
Thomas was expected to go before a city hearing last week but pulled out, saying he needed more time to address the city’s questions. Dozens of residents have written to the city in opposition of the proposal, city records show.
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Steph Kukuljan | Post-Dispatch
Real estate and development
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