The City Council Thursday cleared another hurdle for the creation of a controversial data center on the city’s southeast side despite a strong turnout at City Hall opposed to the project.
In a 5-0 vote, the council approved an Employment Center plan for the Blueprint Data Centers project at 1601 MLK Jr. Blvd.
“The decision was not about whether the data center could be constructed or not, it was simply about how the buildings and streets would be laid out,” said Daniel Seguin, a city spokesman, in a statement after the sometimes-contentious session.
The actual construction of the facility, which could generate up to $1 billion in costs, does not require council approval, officials have noted.
Blueprint purchased 52 acres for the center in April from the Taylor Economic Development Corp. for $10 million. The company is building a similar facility 20 miles away in Georgetown, but the local project is not far from Taylor’s Samsung Austin Semiconductor site.
