Tuscaloosa Area Leaders: Data Centers Must Meet Strict Conditions

Tuscaloosa's three top local government leaders addressed data centers directly during the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama's annual State of the Community panel Wednesday at the Bryant Conference Center, laying out the conditions under which they would welcome the increasingly controversial facilities into their communities.

Mayor Walt Maddox, Northport Mayor Dale Phillips, and Tuscaloosa County Commission Chair Rob Robertson addressed the topic during the panel, moderated by Chamber President and CEO Kyle South, whose questions came as at least two hyperscale data centers are proposed for the nearby city of Brookwood.

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Maddox referenced a recent interview on 95.3 the Bear's Steve & DC Show, saying readers who skimmed headlines without listening to the audio of his full talk are missing the full context, then laid out specific conditions under which Tuscaloosa would consider such a project.

"It needs to be in an industrial area where you already have industry in your community, and we certainly have areas like that in Tuscaloosa," Maddox said. "We do not want it in your homes or near your schools. We would never want that situation."

He added that any data center located within city jurisdiction "couldn't make our constituents' water bills or power bills higher because they came into our community."

Maddox also placed the conversation in the context of the urgent question facing Tuscaloosa's economy: how to adapt to job losses in traditional manufacturing.

He cited the upcoming closure of BFGoodrich, which will cost the region 1,200 jobs, as evidence that the city must move toward what he called "the jobs of the future."

"We have to pivot in this AI-driven, technology-driven environment," Maddox said, pointing to the University of Alabama's data science programs and forthcoming high-performance computing center as key regional assets.

Judge Robertson described the data center evaluation process as fundamentally similar to any other economic development decision, even as the underlying technology represents a significant shift.

"This model is so different than things we're used to considering in economic development, and it's happening across this country," Robertson said. "Every community in Alabama is being analyzed, looking at resources, land availability, power, the usual factors."

Robertson pushed back on blanket opposition to the projects, comparing skepticism of data centers to historical resistance toward the automobile.

"All those same words were said about the horseless carriage," Robertson said. "Henry Ford went further with that and said if he asked customers what they wanted in transportation, they probably would have said a faster horse. None of you parked a horse outside today."

He argued that Alabama communities that fail to understand the shift risk falling behind.

"We are truly in a race," Robertson said. "It's not going away - AI is already passing us, and it's a steamroller-type technology. Either you're on the steamroller, or you're part of the road."

Mayor Phillips said data centers should be evaluated with the same diligence as any other prospective business, and offered a personal anecdote to illustrate how normalized the underlying technology already is.

"They can't intrude on neighborhoods; they can't be a burden to your infrastructure. They have to be a good fit," Phillips said. "But it's nothing spooky. It's a building with computers in it. We just have to respect the process and work through it."

None of the panelists referenced any specific projects during the discussion, but Tuscaloosa County is currently weighing at least two large data center developments in Brookwood alone.

As the Thread first reported, Dallas-based Applied Digital Corporation has proposed a roughly two-million-square-foot facility on a fraction of the nearly 1,300 acres it owns along Brookwood Parkway, according to a stormwater permit filed with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

A separate project from Project Brookwood LLC, tied to New York developer Youngwoo & Associates, cleared an early hurdle Tuesday when Brookwood's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended annexing and rezoning 374 acres of land for a "Data Center Campus" despite an hour of questions, concerns and opposition from residents.

That request now heads to the Brookwood City Council for a final vote on September 15.

Both projects have drawn scrutiny over their proximity to Brookwood Middle School, potential impacts on Hurricane Creek, power consumption, and what residents have described as a lack of transparency from developers and city officials alike.

For more exclusive coverage of local government and economic development in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.