Data Center Developers Battle For Hearts And Minds For Their Projects

A groundswell of community opposition to new data centers is forcing developers to invest in charm offensives to convince local officials that the asset class can be good for their communities.

Doing community outreach is worth it, data center developers said at Bisnow’s Data Center Investment Conference and Expo Southeast. Developers can either enlist community members as advocates or face them as adversaries, said Andre Patrick, vice president of the engineering consulting firm Introba.

Too often, he said, the industry shortchanges community engagement.

“We’ve done a very poor job in that regard,” said Patrick during the March 4 event at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. “Thus, you see pushback, not just in any single region but throughout the U.S. as a whole.”

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RSK: Data centers will be a hard sell in our neck of the woods. Too much environmental and energy backlash that go along with them. SE Wisconsin already has infrastructure in place and that is where the action is happening right now.