Nashville votes to seize the land under a data center — before it can be built
Nashville's Metro Council voted 27–5 on Tuesday to let city attorneys pursue eminent domain over 23 acres next to the Nashville Zoo, where developer DC Blox paid $23 million last month for a planned 10-megawatt data center. Mayor Freddie O'Connell says the city needs the land for offices amid a 'severe shortage' of municipal space; an amendment requires any appraisal to go to the council at least three weeks before condemnation is filed. Dissenting members called the move a misuse of condemnation power, and a court fight over the price is widely expected.
Why it mattersCities have fought data centers with zoning, moratoriums and grid rules — Nashville just reached for the bluntest tool a local government has: taking the land itself. If the maneuver survives court, it enters other cities' playbooks; either way, it shows how hard the local politics of AI infrastructure have turned.
▶ Related video: Nashville mayor moves to use eminent domain to block data center next to Nashville Zoo
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