Minneapolis council to consider data center pause as downtown interest increases
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The Minneapolis City Council will decide Thursday whether to pause new data center development for a year.
Why it matters: Developers are beginning to see building data centers in vacant office towers as a tool to inject value back into underused downtown properties.
- But some council members want stricter rules in place before more projects move forward, citing concerns about electricity and water use.
Threat level: It's unclear whether a yearlong pause would scuttle any active plans, though Minneapolis Downtown Council CEO Adam Duininck told Axios he knows of "a handful of buildings" where data centers are under consideration.
- Downtown data centers would likely be much smaller than the sprawling suburban centers that have sparked much of the controversy.
What they're saying: Duininck called a moratorium a "completely unnecessary," saying the council has ways to study new regulations without declaring a pause.
- "This knee-jerk reaction to try to deter development from happening is nonsensical," he said.
The other side: Some of the predictions that data centers could rescue downtown feel like "wish-casting" to City Council President Elliott Payne.
- "I do see the upside of increasing revenue for a city, but I want to know what the cost of it is — and I don't feel like that's clear," Council Member Aurin Chowdhury told Axios in April.
What's next: The council will act Thursday on Chowdhury's moratorium proposal — a vote that could divide the body.
- Yes, but: Moratorium aside, nine of the council's 13 members have also signaled their openness to drafting new data center regulations — and the council will also take up a proposal to order a city study of the issue.