There was a raucous public hearing before Charlotte City Council this week over data centers and a possible 150-day pause on their development. The Charlotte Ledger business newsletter’s Ashley Fahey was there, and she joins me now for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: Remind me first what data centers are and why they seem to be popping up everywhere all of a sudden.
Ashley Fahey: Data centers have actually been around for as long as we’ve had digital infrastructure and the internet, but I think they’ve really become more in the public conscience because they’re getting a lot bigger and a lot more powerful. Basically, they’re just these one-story, usually, facilities that house servers and other infrastructure to power all the things we do on our phones and all the digital aspects of our world.
Terry: Now, at this public hearing this week, more than 30 people spoke. What made it raucous? And what did the people who supported data centers, a small number, say?
Fahey: A lot of folks are worried this could mean higher power bills. We’re in a drought right now, so the water use of data centers was a major point of contention. Some people also pointed to a proposed data center in east Charlotte and asked where these facilities are going — are they near neighborhoods, or near nature preserves? About five people spoke either neutrally or against the moratorium, many of them from the real estate industry. They argued that most people today rely on digital infrastructure and AI — things powered by data centers — and said these facilities are becoming critical infrastructure.
Terry: What comes next?
Fahey: There will be a vote at the June 8 City Council meeting on a 150-day temporary moratorium. The point of the moratorium is to give the city time to develop policy and regulations.
Terry: Sticking with council for a moment, it recently approved a rezoning petition for part of the Manor Theatre shopping center site on Providence Road. What are the plans there?
Fahey: The longtime owner of the property, Eastern Federal Corp., is working with a Dallas-based group to build up to 130 residential units at about 35,000 square feet of retail space. This will all be new developments, so what's currently on the site is expected to be demolished. This was a sticking point with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, which noted that the building that contained the Manor Theatre is, while not officially historic, it has a lot of things from the 1940s and building facade and architectural features that they would like to see preserved. The developers have said they will try to incorporate some of those design considerations in the new development. Certainly, this is a new chapter for the site. The theatre closed in 2020.
Terry: On to some medical development news now: Novant Health is building a freestanding emergency room. Where will it be, and are those common?
Fahey: Looks like Novant wants to build this ER at 6400 Fairview Road, which is right behind the Original Pancake House at Sharon Corners at Fairview and Sharon Roads. We are seeing this trend kind of more broadly, not specific to Novant, but across healthcare, of more freestanding emergency rooms in Charlotte and elsewhere. I couldn't tell you exactly what's driving the trend, but I have noticed more of these types of applications are popping up.
Terry: Finally, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is resuming its search for a new CEO. It’s been more than a year since the previous CEO stepped down. What’s taking so long?
Fahey: I don't know that I have the answer for that necessarily. It is interesting that there is no permanent CEO in place with everything Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is doing right now, especially its new main library branch in uptown Charlotte. That's been underway now for a while. It's expected to open sometime next year, but the library tells us that they are planning to hold initial candidate interviews for the CEO position next month.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson & Associates and Central Piedmont Community College.
