Adair Park data-center proposal would waive transit buffer, cap facilities at 100 megawatts

A held Atlanta ordinance would waive the 2,640-foot separation from high-capacity transit stops for qualifying data-center uses in Subarea 9, Adair Park Live/Work. The exception would apply north of Ralph D. Abernathy Boulevard SW. The Zoning Committee’s Sept. 28 minutes leave ordinance 26-O-1097, zoning case Z-26-06, on hold.

The proposal would cap data-center floor area at 350,000 square feet and electrical demand at 100 megawatts per facility. Eligible lots would have to contain between 10 and 16 net acres, with at least 10% of total building floor area devoted to restaurants or permitted retail goods and services.

Data centers would need closed-loop cooling, and cooling systems would have to comply with Atlanta’s noise ordinance. Staff recommends approval, while the neighborhood planning unit and Zoning Review Board recommend denial. The minutes list Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. as the next checkpoint; the held proposal does not itself grant the exception.