St. Louis wants to build a $3 billion tech hub but the data center anchoring it is sparking backlash

Best known as America’s historic brewing capital, St.Louis is seeking to reinvent itself as a regional tech hub by rolling out the red carpet for a sprawling new technology park anchored by a giant data center—a project that has drawn public backlash and triggered legal battles.A city of roughly 280,000 people, St.

Louis already hosts more than a dozen operational data centers, with three more currently under construction in the area and up to 10 more in various stages of planning.The most visible and controversial of the projects in the pipeline is the 120-megawatt, 525,000-square-foot hyperscale facility slated for Midtown St.Louis.

The chosen site previously housed a Macy’s and Famous-Barr warehouse adjacent to the historic Armory building.The data center, co-developed by TeraWatt Infrastructure—a San Francisco–based company that specializes in commercial electric vehicle-charging networks—is envisioned as the linchpin of the privately funded $3.1 billion Armory Innovation District.Sitting alongside Interstate Highway 64, the long-vacant Armory building, which previously housed a tennis training center, an entertainment complex, and a sports venue, is poised to be converted into 214,500 square feet of high-tech office and creative space.According to developer statements, the district project will create more than 1,000 temporary union construction jobs and 200 permanent on-site positions.Prohibited from seeking tax abatements, the Armory center is projected to generate $432 million in tax revenue over its first decade, with nearly half of that amount going to St.

Louis public schools. If development proceeds on schedule, construction will get underway in August 2027 and conclude by late 2029.

Supports of the project say it will give the local economy a shot in the arm.“Data centers allow communities to repopulate the middle class,” Ron Kitchens, CEO of Greater St.Louis, the metro’s leading economic development organization championing the ...