The Nashville Zoo says it has turned down an agreement with DC BLOX allowing the Atlanta-based digital infrastructure company to construct a scaled-back version of the data center it’s proposed right next door to the zoo in South Nashville.
In a July 23 statement, zoo officials said the agreement in question would have allowed DC BLOX to construct a 69,000-square-foot data center adjacent to the zoo while also striking plans for a larger expansion that, though the company has yet to confirm publicly, engineering records show was modeled to grow to roughly double the electrical capacity described in public planning documents by 2034.
The zoo also says the agreement proposed DC BLOX returning a portion of the property it purchased earlier this month
at 348 Grassmere Park to the zoo for future development.
Per the release, the zoo’s board of directors unanimously voted to reject that proposal following an emergency meeting July 23.
“We will not turn our backs on the 563,000 members of this community and beyond who have supported us, nor the 3,000 animals entrusted to our care,” said Nashville Zoo CEO Rick Schwartz in the zoo’s statement. “We stand by what we’ve said from the beginning: a data center this close to vulnerable species, schools and neighboring communities has not been proven safe.”
Representatives with DC BLOX had not responded to The Tennessean’s request for comment on this story as of 4 p.m. July 23
The declined agreement comes days after the Metro Nashville Council unanimously approved a set of zoning regulations for data centers and an accompanying moratorium halting any new data center development through Dec. 1.
Another bill filed by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, which seeks to acquire the zoo-adjacent property through eminent domain, is also working its way through the process. It was approved on its second of three readings July 21 and could be up for a final vote as soon as Aug. 4.
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him with questions, tips and story ideas at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Zoo officials reject scaled-back data center agreement
