A dozen residents spoke out against data centers at the Atlanta City Council meeting on Aug. 3 as momentum builds around environmental, health, and equity concerns.
The outcry is in response to Digital Realty‘s $500 million proposal to build a data center at 713 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard where West End, Adair Park and Mechanicsville meet. The developer has promised $10 million of community investment funds, which residents say is not enough to risk the drawbacks that come with data centers.
District 12 resident Norma Harris demanded more information about the process and impact.
“The neighborhood should be able to have as much information as possible. Information about who is buying the land, who is developing the land, how much, how large. Will there be full-time jobs, not just construction jobs?” Harris asked. “Once we have it in a neighborhood – any neighborhood – you can’t take it away.”
Data centers do not yield a significant number of local jobs in comparison to other sectors, resulting in limited economic benefits for neighboring communities, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Other impacts include the noise and busyness of large vehicles and equipment, the drain of utilities like electricity and water from residents, and the loss of trees.
Atlanta City Council and data centers
Since 2024, the Atlanta City Council has banned data centers from being built near the Atlanta Beltline and within a half-mile of MARTA stations. That changed when Council member Antonio Lewis proposed to amend the rule under certain conditions: a maximum 350,000-square-foot facility, a minimum of 10% retail space, and a closed-loop cooling system.
Adair Park, West End, Summerhill, Peoplestown, and Pittsburgh have been fighting the Digital Realty data center by rallying neighborhood groups.
In April, about 200 people showed up to the NPU-V meeting held at Georgia State University Convocation Center. CapitalB News reported the room filled with shouts, cheers, and laughter as the meeting ran an hour late. The NPU-V voted 105-87 against recommending a zoning change that would allow the data center to be built within a five minute walk of the West End MARTA train station.
If the amendment moves forward – whether or not the Digital Realty deal goes through – any data center developer will be allowed to build near MARTA stations and the Beltline.
City staff put their stamp of approval on the amendment, reasoning that Digital Realty expects to invest more than $20 million in environmental remediation under the oversight of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. But the Zoning Review Board in July upheld the original ordinance. Atlanta City Council is now holding the item for review, and it’s unclear for how long.
What Southside residents are saying
Stephanie Linfields lives in the Cascade Road neighborhood. She said data center companies make community investment promises, “but the structures required to hold them accountable to the promises that they make are not in place. We don’t know that these companies will be held accountable.”
With about 8,000 households in Adair Park, $1 million per year isn’t worth it, a resident told Rough Draft. People are feeling ignored, they don’t understand the process, and they’re tired of fighting.
Allean Brown, a legacy resident of southwest Atlanta, said Georgia Power has raised rates six times since 2022, adding roughly $43 to an average monthly residential bill. The base rate freeze approved in July 2025 will expire in 2028.
“Residential customers are the ones told to conserve,” Brown said. “The same utilities that ask us to budget every kilowatt and every gallon to save the environment, then offer data center corporations discounted industrial rates and multi-year tax abatements. Conservation is not the problem.”
“It feels like redlining 2.0,” community advocate Tyrone Clemons said. “You’re putting all of these large, infrastructural developments by private interests in predominantly Black areas that will negatively impact [that] area for the next generation, and not putting it in the other areas that have been allowed to flourish for the last 100 years.”
What’s next
Metro Atlanta has become the one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the U.S., according to Georgia Trend. To that end, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has launched the Georgia Digital Infrastructure Alliance, a new initiative to introduce business leaders, infrastructure providers, utilities, community stakeholders, and key industries “to support Georgia’s growing digital economy.”
Council member Kelsea Bond has proposed a task force to examine national and global best practices for the regulation of data centers and make recommendations. It will go through the council’s committee process.
