The Louisville Planning Commission has recommended approval for a proposal calling for the construction of a 1.6 million sq ft (148,645 sqm) planned data center near the city of Shively, Kentucky.

This has effectively greenlit the data center campus because the relevant land parcel is already zoned for industrial usage, meaning that it does not need the approval of the Louisville Metro Council in order to proceed.

Referred to as a “telecommunications hotel” by city staff, the campus will comprise seven 219,534 sq ft (20,395 sqm) data center buildings, an office building, a utility building, and a security building across 153 acres at 6001 Camp Ground Road.

Plans for the project were revealed back in January. Real estate developer Poe Companies and data center firm PowerHouse Data Centers announced at the time that they had secured an initial power capacity of 335Mw for the campus, with a near-term expansion of up to 402MW.

But some residents have come out in opposition to the campus since its announcement. Louisville Public Media reported that more than twenty people spoke against the campus at the planning commission meeting last Thursday, citing concerns about its energy use, water use, and the perceived lack of regulatory guidelines.

Poe and PowerHouse estimate that construction will start in 2025, with 130MW of capacity set to be available in October 2026, as per Poe’s website about the campus.

The power supply will be supported by a new switch station to be built by LG&E and completed in September 2026, along with a dedicated on-site substation.

Louisville is Kentucky’s largest city by population. Located in the north along the state’s border with Indiana, it is also home to the state’s largest concentration of data centers.