Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell is planning to file eminent domain legislation that will take ownership of a property near the Nashville Zoo that is the site of a proposed data center.
Axios reports the property is owned by the development firm MarketStreet Enterprises, which has a contract to sell the land for $23 million to DC Blox, a data center company has applied for permits for a 69,000-square-foot data center. The proposed development has sparked public backlash, with more than 500,000 signing a petition to prevent its creation.
Critics of the data center claim it will upset or even harm the Nashville Zoo’s animals. DC Blox has stated the data center and the zoo can coexist, but O’Connell – whose formal title is mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County – is seeking to seize the property to prevent the data center from moving forward.
“We’re filing this condemnation legislation because Metro has a legitimate need for this property,” said O’Connell through a spokesperson. “I have carefully followed the concerns from the community and the zoo and also remain deeply concerned about the proposed use.”
The Metro Council would need to pass the legislation before the mayor’s office can negotiate with the property owner. DC Blox said it was focused on creating the data center.
“Metro has not identified a lawful public use that would justify taking this property by eminent domain,” said DC Blox attorney Doug Sloan. “Using condemnation power to interfere with a private purchase agreement and to stop a lawful private transaction raises serious legal questions under Tennessee law.”
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