Palm Beach County zoning staff approved a plan on Oct. 7 that expands data center space at Project Tango, a site off Southern Boulevard in western Palm Beach County. The change allows nearly 700,000 square feet of data centers, using space already included in the site’s approved master plan. Because the uses fall under administrative approval, the plan did not go back to county commissioners.
According to the county zoning division, data centers at the site will grow from 200,000 square feet to 698,000 square feet. The site is already approved for 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space, and the new plan assigns more of the unallocated space to data centers. The approval includes an 850-foot buffer along the property line nearest Arden, where no data center can be built. It also requires sound studies, ongoing noise monitoring and a closed-loop cooling system.
Arden resident Ben Brown called the decision “a blatant slap in the face” of residents in Arden and western Palm Beach County. Brown said residents were not told about the change and believed commissioners would review any expansion first.
The buffer could affect plans by WPB Logistics Owner, another landowner on the site that has sought to convert warehouse space to data centers. The county said that application is under review.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday, Oct. 22, on hiring a consultant for up to $225,000 to help rewrite zoning rules for large data centers. PBA Holdings has appealed the commission’s July rejection of a larger expansion, and no hearing date has been set. PBA Holdings project manager Ernie Cox did not respond to a request for comment.
