Apex neighbors raise concerns about proposed data center

APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- Residents in Apex got a chance to ask questions about a potential new neighbor. A proposal for a 190-acre data center near Old US 1 and Shearon Harris Road would include four buildings housing computing and networking for Cloud services and artificial intelligence.

The developer said it would be used by a single company, which it hasn't announced.

"Is it going to be Google. Is it going to matter? Is it going to be whatever? So we want to nip it in the bud. The people don't want this. The people that know about it don't want it. And the people that don't know about it find out about it. They won't want it either," said an Apex woman who wanted to be identified only as Rosemary.

Many neighbors brought up concerns about electricity usage, which would be a big strain on Apex, along with all the water being used, and concerns about noise.

The developer, Natelli Holdings, said it would try to mitigate the noise caused by the cooling system and back-up generators.

"What I would say is we're working really hard to come up with a program that really standardizes what we need to do to ensure that we're not impacting neighboring properties in a negative way," said Michael Natelli.

The plan also puts North Carolina at the center of debate about these kinds of data centers as the AI industry continues to grow.

The company said it already has other projects in Maryland, housing data centers used by Fannie Mae and the Social Security Administration.

"I think the industry needs to look at where does it make sense for these facilities to be located so that we can support this demand? There are places where it definitely doesn't make sense, and there are places where it does make sense. And in our view, this is a very compelling site," Natelli said.

Neighbors argued that the project is not aligned with the "light industrial" designation the area is zoned for in Apex.

"It would be a cataclysmic amount of changes that would make me consider raising an eyebrow about it. Of course, I don't want something that's going to affect my family two miles from my home," said Dr. Michelle Hoffner O'Connor.

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