Artificial intelligence is driving one of the biggest infrastructure booms we’ve seen in decades, and data centers are at the center of it.
Whether we like it or not, data centers are coming to St. Louis. The question isn’t whether we participate in this growth. It’s whether we position ourselves to compete for it and make sure the community benefits from the investment that comes with it.
Data centers require reliable power, water, fiber, available land, and strong connectivity to the rest of the country.
St. Louis fits like a glove.
We are centrally located, have significant existing infrastructure, and perhaps most importantly, have an abundance of underutilized industrial and commercial property many comparable markets don’t have. Making the city a legitimate candidate for the next wave of investment, and the numbers are significant.
The City’s own analysis estimates that a 75-megawatt data center could represent roughly $803 million in capital investment and $254 million in tax revenue over 10 years. At 150 megawatts, those figures increase to more than $1.6 billion in investment and roughly $500 million in tax revenue.
That’s a lot of potential investment for a city that has spent years trying to attract new development and put vacant and underutilized properties back to work.
But these numbers don’t come without major concerns.
A billion-dollar data center doesn’t create a billion dollars’ worth of permanent jobs. These facilities are highly capital-intensive, with much of the economic activity occurring during construction. But what happens to our job market after they’re complete? That’s what we don’t know.
What we do know is that data centers require enormous amounts of electricity and water, generate noise, and place additional demands on surrounding infrastructure. If these issues are not taken seriously, the community and environment will suffer.
The city knows there are legitimate concerns that come with these facilities, and that’s why we are seeing such a big discussion around Board Bill 49 (BB 49).
BB 49 is a regulatory framework for where and how data centers can be built while still allowing St. Louis to remain competitive for this investment. The latest version of BB 49 is scheduled for review by the Planning Commission on September 9, with anticipated final passage by the Board of Aldermen on September 11.
That’s the balance St. Louis should be looking for, and why BB 49 is so important.
We shouldn’t turn away billions of dollars in potential investment simply because it concerns come with challenges. But we also shouldn’t approve projects without considering their impact on residents and infrastructure.
Companies are going to build these facilities somewhere. St. Louis has many of the ingredients they’re looking for.
Our job is to make sure we’re competitive enough to get our share of that investment and smart enough to make sure it benefits the city and the people who live here.
Data centers are coming. Now we have an opportunity to make sure St. Louis is ready for them.