Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports…

Up to a dozen data centers could be coming to Farmington, despite objections from some residents.

Nearly 343 Dakota County acres have caught the attention of Tract, a data center land acquisition and development company, to be the potential site of the Farmington Technology Park, but the project hinges on rezoning three parcels of land.

Based in Denver, Tract is looking at the Fountain Valley Golf Club property at 2830 W. 220th St. and two nearby properties that were recently annexed into the city of Farmington from Castle Rock Township and are now owned by Independent School District 192, according to city documents.

The parcels, located near the intersection of Minnesota 50/220th Street West and Minnesota 3/Chippendale Avenue West, are currently zoned as a mixture of agriculture, highway business, park/open space and low- and medium-density residential and would need to be rezoned as mixed-use commercial industrial for the project.

The current site plan, which is subject to change as an end-user has not been identified, includes up to 12 data center buildings spanning more than 2.5 million square feet and two administrative buildings, according to city documents.

The company expects to invest $50 million to $100 million to develop the infrastructure required for the technology park, said Graham Williams, chief investment officer for Tract, in a written statement. “We expect $5B+ to be invested into the data centers themselves as the sites are built out,” Williams added.

The proposal passed but not without some concerns from neighbors…

The Farmington Planning Commission voted 5-0 last month to recommend the rezoning and preliminary plat to the Farmington City Council.

Residents who spoke at the Sept. 10 planning commission meeting raised a variety of concerns including the potential noise emitted from up to 12 data centers, the height of the buildings that would be constructed between two established neighborhoods and the end-user of the site abiding by the site plan that Tract and the city would agree to.