Natelli Investments LLC, the developer behind a proposed data storage facility in Western Wake County, filed a land use amendment and rezoning and annexation requests with the Town of Apex Tuesday, according to a press release from the developer. It plans to begin construction in late 2026 or early 2027 “pending all approvals and site planning,” the release stated.
The company wants to build a new “digital campus” on a 190-acre farm property currently zoned for residential use off of Old U.S. Highway 1 in New Hill in unincorporated Wake County. The property will “support the processing and storage requirements of digital applications for residents in Apex and the greater Triangle area,” according to the release.
Large data facilities are popping up all over the country to power technology and run AI, and residential communities are grappling with their impacts, including the staggering amounts of water and electricity they typically require. Neighbors of the New Hill site, including many who live in the nearby Jordan Pointe planned community, are organizing to oppose the proposed data storage facility. An online petition against the data center proposal, launched two weeks ago, has nearly 2,000 signatures.
Last Tuesday, a group of more than 100 residents wearing red T-shirts attended the Apex Town Council meeting where a representative, Jordan Pointe resident Doug Stewart, spoke for nine minutes and outlined neighbors’ concerns about air pollution, health risks, financial costs, and disruption from light and noise.
Stewart brought with him a wooden birdhouse he said was crafted by his grandfather, noting that his family has lived in the area for generations.
“Just like this birdhouse here, our community is handcrafted,” Stewart told the council. “It’s imperfect, but it’s also built to last, just like our town is, and each of you as its council has been part of handcrafting a future here. Ultimately, you’re the composers of the Apex orchestra.”
In the press release, the developer said the town’s filing to amend Apex’s Unified Development Ordinance “clearly identifies the reasons why the zoning modification fits within the Town of Apex’s development standards.” The property “has been identified for industrial employment” in the Apex’s “Advance Apex” 2045 Land Use Map Update that the town’s council adopted in 2019, according to the release.
The New Hill digital campus, it continued, “will consist of buildings housing computer servers, back-up generators and water storage.” Duke Energy’s transmission grid will serve the facility, according to the release, and it won’t create a strain on the town’s allocated power supply. Water used to cool the facility will come from recirculating non-potable water, and the facility “will meet all land use requirement [sic], including noise, lighting and landscaping standards.”
Michael Natelli, the executive vice president for Natelli Investments, called the New Hill Digital Campus “an ideal use” for the property and local community.
“Data Storage Facilities are modest users of public facilities,” he said in the release. “Not only do they generate far less traffic than residential communities, but they create high-wage technology jobs and strengthen the technology eco-system in their region.”
The company will provide more details about the proposal in the coming weeks and continue to hold community meetings.
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