By John Dobberstein, Editor
A company that proposed to build a data center on Broken Arrow’s east side has pulled out of the project, the city of Broken Arrow said.
Rex Robertson, the owner of the property where the data center was to be located, told the city late last week that the letter of intent to sell the property had expired. The city said no reason was given to them why the LOI was not renewed.
The next step in the process, had the LOI been executed, was a pre-development meeting with the city, but no meeting was ever requested by the site selection company or the company behind the proposal.
After the Broken Arrow Economic Development Corp. was approached in April about the project, city leaders and BAEDC officials said they started researching concerns citizens have about the potential impacts data centers may have on the community through calls, emails and conversations with citizens.
“I’m thankful for the citizens who contacted us directly with their concerns. We learned a lot from them. In fact, we share a lot of their concerns,” City Manager Michael Spurgeon said in a statement Wednesday.
“As such, our due diligence continues with the goal to learn as much as we can through a comprehensive review of data centers, so we are prepared should another request be made to meet with us.”
The project was targeted for a 51-acre property at 8521 S. 209th East Ave., which sits across the highway from the 90-acre Creek 51 Industrial Park, which is on land Robertson owns.
Robertson secured a TIF agreement with the city in 2019 to help pay for the cost of developing the industrial park.
The decision comes weeks after the Oklahoma Legislature passed the Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act, a law that requires “large load” users — including data centers, artificial intelligence facilities, and cryptocurrency mining operations — to cover their share of electricity and infrastructure costs.
The Act also directs the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and other regulators to ensure Oklahomans and local businesses aren’t paying unfair rates driven by these new users’ significant energy demands.
City officials said that due to “substantial growth and expansion” of technology companies across the U.S. due to consumer demand, it’s “very likely” a formal proposal to develop a data center in Broken Arrow will be submitted in the future, although no applications for such a development have been submitted.
“When that time comes, the city will provide transparency through the comprehensive and legal processes regarding land use development applications that all proposals are afforded,” Spurgeon said.
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