Shreveport City Council Greenlights Controversial Data Center Plan

After passionate discussion on both sides, the Shreveport City Council has voted unanimously to grant a special exception permit for the use of land in west Shreveport as a data center with 24 hour operations.

Several dozen people spoke at the beginning of the council meeting on this plan for a data center. Each of them was granted 3 minutes to express their concerns. After the public comments, several opponents of the data center began shouting at the council and many of them were escorted out of the council chamber by police.

Location of the Proposed Data Center in Shreveport

The proposed data center is planned for West Shreveport, specifically at 7340 Greenwood Road within the Resilient Technology Park. That site is more than 300 acres and it is an industrial site developed for large-scale tech and industrial uses. The project is being pursued by Bohler Engineering on behalf of Franks Investment Company LLC.

READ MORE: Sneak Peek at Planned SPD HQ

What Will this Data Center Include

The proposed complex will be a 2.8 million square foot facility with at least 2 stories. These structures are designed for data storage, processing, and various support operations.

The City council has passed a measure allowing the city to sell as much as 7.5 million gallons of water every day to this data center. The sale of this water will generate millions of dollars in revenue to the city.

What the Special Exception Use Permit Allows

Data centers do have to get a special exception use permit from the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission or the city council. The local MPC essentially denied this special exception use on a 4-4 vote. This led to the appeal to the city council.

Get our free mobile app

What Happens Now with the Data Center

Now that the special exception use permit has been approved, the proposed Shreveport data center can officially move from the planning phase into the development phase, but several important steps still remain before construction begins.

Engineering and Site Plan Review

The developer must now submit detailed engineering plans for city review. This includes:

• Final site layout and building footprints

• Drainage and stormwater management plans

• Water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure designs

• Road access and traffic flow plans

City engineers and utility providers will review these plans to ensure existing systems can handle the project’s demands or identify required upgrades.