Fishback asks Governor-elect to stop Auburndale data center

Angela Walker can stand at the back fence of her property and look directly at the massive warehouse buildings next door.

She says she moved to the property in 1990, when the land around her was a citrus grove. Today, those buildings tower over her backyard and could soon house a large data center.

Watch report from Chad Mills:

Walker says she only learned about the proposal last week through word of mouth and social media. She worries the project will change her neighborhood's character and hurt her property value.

Im really, extremely frustrated, Walker said. I bought this property to raise my children here and raise my grandchildren here.

Now, as opposition to the proposed Auburndale Technology Center grows, the project is drawing attention from a former candidate for governor who is asking Florida's governor-elect to get involved.

James Fishback, who ran for the Republican nomination for governor, sent Byron Donalds a letter Thursday urging him to publicly oppose the project and commit to using his authority as governor to stop it.

Fishback says Donalds should follow through on a statement he made during the campaign.

On Tuesday morning, ahead of a public workshop in Auburndale, Donalds posted on social media: What I said on the campaign trail is my commitment. If a local community says no data center, then no data center. Florida will protect water and the people's electric bill. We will also protect residential neighborhoods.

Fishback argues the people of Auburndale have made their position clear.

I think the governor-elect has an obligation to protect the people of Auburndale. Clearly, they do not want this data center, Fishback said.

Roughly 500 people packed Tuesday night's public workshop, with hundreds more watching online. Many who spoke at the meeting opposed the proposal and raised concerns about electricity demand, environmental impact, noise, and the project's impact on nearby homes.

For Walker, the concern is personal. Her property sits directly behind the warehouses proposed for the data center.

Within spitting distance, she said. I could actually stand at my fence line and spit on them.

Walker says she hopes Donalds will intervene.

This community is saying no data center, she said.

The Auburndale Technology Center would convert two existing warehouse buildings along Pace Road, near Florida Polytechnic University, into a data center.

Developer Hillwood says the project would be built in phases, with the first phase requiring about 350 megawatts of electricity. At full buildout, the facility could require as much as 700 megawatts. Tampa Electric is expected to supply the power.

Fishback has compared that potential demand to the electricity used by nearly half a million homes.

Water use has also been a major concern. However, Hillwood estimates the facility would only use about 4,665 gallons of water per day. It would rely on a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates water.

The developer says the project would create nearly 300 permanent jobs and as many as 1,300 construction jobs at peak activity. It also projects significant economic and tax benefits for the area.

Hillwood has defended the proposal and said it was designed to minimize environmental impacts and use less water than the property's previously planned industrial development.

One of the biggest questions raised by residents is how the project can move forward without another vote from the Auburndale City Commission.

The answer dates back to December 2023, when city commissioners approved a future land-use change and Industrial Planned Unit Development zoning for the property.

That approval came before Hillwood acquired the site and proposed a data center.

The city says the approved zoning allows a data center under permitted technology, information services, and research uses. As a result, another City Commission vote is not required.

That does not mean the project has received final approval. The city received an application November 4 for the interior retrofit of the two buildings. City staff still must review the plans, and the project remains subject to the citys permitting review and other approvals by state agencies like the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

In a Thursday interview with Tampa Bay 28, Fishback criticized the earlier zoning approval.

He also said he wants Donalds to make clear whether he will stand behind his campaign statement.

Im asking the Governor-Elect to do the right thing, to act now, before this cross the Rubicon, before we get to the point of no return, Fishback said.

Tampa Bay 28 reached out to Donalds' team for comment on Fishback's letter and the Auburndale project but had not received a response by publication.

For Walker, the issue comes down to the place she chose to call home all the way back in 1990.

She says she is worried about what the project could mean for her property and the surrounding neighborhood and hopes the governor-elect will get involved before construction moves forward.

Im hoping that he will stop this, and I can tell you that I speak for everybody on this street and the street over and the street on that side, she said.