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SWARM
TO STOP THE ADAIR PARK / WEST END DATA CENTER
In 2024, hundreds of Southwest Atlanta residents worked with the Atlanta City Council to ban data centers within ½ mile of major transportation hubs (MARTA stations).
Now, a data center developer, Digital Realty, is lobbying for an exception to build a hyperscale data center next to the West End MARTA Station, at 713 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.
The Atlanta Zoning Ordinance already forbids data centers on this land, but Digital Realty is pushing City Council for an exception!
The Atlanta Zoning Ordinance already forbids data centers on this land, but Digital Realty is pushing City Council for an exception!
we have to push back!
we have to push back!
Or keep reading...
Councilmembers Antonio Lewis and Eshe Collins have introduced a new ordinance that will allow this data center to be built, under certain conditions:
It has to be less than 350,000 square feet (equivalent to 6 football fields)
It has to use less than 100 MW of power (enough to power up to 65,000 homes)
It has to have a closed-loop coolant system (so it is not using water from the grid)
It has to build at least 10% (35,000 sq ft) of retail space
Great things happen in our neighborhoods
Great things happen in our neighborhoods
"Atlanta’s historic buildings inspire developers to ‘respect and protect"
ajc.com, 10/18/24"Mall West End developers promise community-first approach to redevelopment"
wabe.org 10/1/24"Major expansion in works for West End's lively warehouse district"
urbanize.com 9/17/24
The City of Atlanta has already determined this site is best suited for people-focused uses: residential and retail.
The City of Atlanta has already determined this site is best suited for people-focused uses: residential and retail.
Its location next to MARTA makes it ideal for high-density, people-oriented development.
In 2025, NPU-V published a vision for the neighborhood, designating this site for high-density mixed-use development.
In 2019, the Livable Centers Initiative proposed a plan for this site to be residential and retail space.
The 2025 ordinance banning data centers near MARTA has been nationally praised as a best practice in urban planning for data centers.
And next to a MARTA station?!
And next to a MARTA station?!
MARTA won't be building any new stations any time soon, so we must make the best use possible of the stations we already have. That means using land next to our existing stations for people-centered development, not warehouses!
When we build housing and employment opportunities next to transit stations, we make transit a more viable option for more Atlantans, reducing traffic and pollution for the rest of us!
On February 5th, concerned residents spoke with Georgia PSC Commissioner Peter Hubbard about the proposed data center.
On February 5th, concerned residents spoke with Georgia PSC Commissioner Peter Hubbard about the proposed data center.
Here are some highlights from that conversation.
Here are some highlights from that conversation.
"Data centers can...make it more difficult to develop affordable housing, grocery, greenspace, and retail, which are all more suitable projects for the urban core of our city...Moreover, the centers are being pushed into underserved, traditionally African-American areas that have been starved of equitable development and amenities. This is unacceptable.
Data Center development cannot be prioritized over people-centered urban development, including affordable housing, quality jobs, and neighborhood retail. This is particularly important near the Beltline and high-capacity transit."
-Mayor Andre Dickens, 12/2/24
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