Many people who live and work in downtown Waco say they had no idea a data center was operating in the middle of their neighborhood.

The building on Austin Avenue may look like just another office space, but it is home to the DataBank data center.

When asked if they knew a data center was in downtown Waco, residents gave a clear answer.

"No, I did not."

"I had no idea."

"I didn't know but I'm very against it."

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Some of those residents said they spend significant time in the area.

"I walk here every day."

"I work just down the street."

"I come here often."

According to the company's website, the Waco location serves as a disaster recovery and backup hub for major Texas cities including Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

The facility has been in downtown Waco since 2009,originally owned by Clear view Information Technology Gateway. DataBank acquired it for data center use in 2020,reportedly running on 100 percent renewable energy using sources like wind and solar power.

After reaching out to the City of Waco with detailed questions, the City Development Services Director responded.

"The data center began operations in 2009. At that time, it was a permitted use in the C-4 Downtown Zoning District and did not require any special zoning approval to operate."

DataBank declined to comment.

UPDATE:

Amy Gage, Brenda Jameson and Natalie Lucero have all earned seats on the Lacy Lakeview City Council.

ORIGINAL:

Four candidates are competing for three at-large seats on the Lacy Lakeview City Council. Incumbents Brenda Jameson, Richard Lednicky, and Natalie Lucero are all looking to hold onto their seats, while first-time candidate Amy Gage hopes to break through.

Watch the full story here:

The proposed data center project has dominated the race and its potential impact extends beyond Lacy Lakeview's borders. The project would require the city to annex land currently in Ross, Texas, drawing concern from residents who have no vote in the election but say they would bear the consequences.

Sara Mynarcik-Lenart, a Ross resident, said the outcome directly affects her community.

"It kind of goes back to the founding of this great country. Our forefathers didn't like the fact that they were being taxed by the British government and not have representation. That's exactly how we feel as non-Lacy Lakeview citizens. We have a 7-member council, board that is trying to decide the future for us and we do not have the right to vote but yet we'll be directly impacted by the air, the noise, the pollution."

Mynarcik-Lenart said she is watching the incumbents' positions closely.

"It gives me the hope when two of the incumbents are saying that they're neutral. OK, that gives me hope because I do want them to do the research. I want them to see the impact. I want them to do their own research and not just be told how to vote."

She also called on Lacy Lakeview voters to weigh in.

"That's why we need Lacy Lakeview citizens to say no don't do this. First of all, it's our neighboring communities and this is just not right."

Jameson said she is not yet taking a position on the project.

"At this time, I remain neutral. We're still gathering information and no decision has been made. The council did sign an MOU, which was a memorandum of understanding or an agreement, and it is non-binding at this time. We are, as I said, still gathering information on that."

On social media, Lucero also said she is neutral, adding she plans to continue research before making a final decision.

Gage, the only non-incumbent in the race, takes a clear stance against the project.

"I am against it. I think that the way data centers are being, uh, put up all over the country, but especially in the state of Texas is reckless. I think there's very little regulation tied to them. And, um, until we can get a better handle on what this looks like long term and for our future, I, I think we need to put a pause on all of it."

Gage also spoke to her broader priorities if elected.

"What I would say first is that I have no experience in civic government. And so my first priority is going to be to learn, um, learn all that there is to learn about city financing, the budget."

Jameson said unity is among her top priorities.

"One of them, is unity, bringing our citizens together. In being very respectful of each other when differences of opinion occur."

All three incumbents previously voted in favor of a non-binding agreement with the data center company. In December, the council voted 6-to-1 to approve a memorandum of understanding with InfraKey, moving the controversial project forward despite strong opposition from some neighbors.

I reached out to Lednicky and Lucero, but have not heard back.

Temple Mayor Tim Davis addressed neighbors Wednesday morning with an open letter about local concerns over data centers. On social media, the message was met with some praise, but mostly criticism and more questions from residents as a recall effort for some council members continues.

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Anger over data centers has turned into a plan to kick out city government.

Now, the mayor is sending out an open letter saying the idea is misunderstood and that some of what you've been hearing simply isn't true.

Talks about bold choices bringing thoughtful growth, well, there was a bold choice, it wasn't very thoughtful, though, Jason, a resident, said.

Temple neighbors and social media are offering mixed reactions to the open letter from Mayor Tim Davis. In the middle of the firestorm over data centers, Davis has offered up the letter, but many of the people i spoke with still want answers.

It's a weird mess, you see, both like compliments like, hey, thank you for asking hard questions, doesn't want to answer them, and then kind of criticizes the public for speaking out. So. He is clearly aware of the disdain for this, Emmanuel Perez said.

The letter addresses concerns over how much water a data center will use. Davis says it wouldn't be as much water as local restaurants already use every day. As for electricity, he stated that's a matter for the state of Texas and he says if data centers come to Texas, the impact on electricity in Temple will come regardless of where in the state they end up.

The electric deregulation has led to power outages and poor management of the electrical grid and the state of Texas environmental protections. They're woefully misguided and lacking. So that doesn't really answer any of the questions that we have, Jerilyn Melton said.

Davis also addressed claims that he and members of the city council are profiting from the data center project. He calls that blatantly false and he says all of Temple will benefit from tax money the data center will bring. 

The city's going to get eight million dollars. We're going to get $12 million. We're going to get all this revenue from these data centers, what it failed to emphasize. We're trading 700 acres of land for 40 permanent jobs. And. If you look at it through, uh? Just basic math on a land-to-job ratio. This is not a good deal, Kevin Brown.

Neighbors like Jason said they just want a pause on the project until more information can be made available. 

Doing something like this reeks of environmental ruin, and people would like to know that it's not for personal gain, Jason said. If we had a Venn diagram of things you need and things that data centers serve, there's just two circles right there. They don't overlap at all.

According to leaders of the "Stop Temple Data Center" group, the recall petitions already have almost half the signatures they'll need to move forward with a recall.

Coryell County Commissioners voted to table a decision on adopting a resolution to ban data center across the county.

According to county documents this decision comes with concerns over environmental impact and utility usage for residents in the county.

The ban extends to the power of the county, calling on state leaders to re-examine the regulations and safeguards on data center developments.

Watch the story here:

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Coryell county commissioners hit pause on plans for a ban on data centers but the push isn't over.

It's not a law, it's not a statute, uh, it's really at times not even a policy. It is a call to action, Commissioner Scott Waddle said.

As communities across Central Texas figure out how to deal with the explosion of data centers...

Coryell County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to hold off on a proposed ban on data centers in our community.

When we start using the words regulation and the government needs to come in and tell me what. And it even goes extended like burn bans. I fundamentally don't like the burn. Because now we are imposing our will on citizens that own the property," County Judge

The court says this will allow more in-depth conversations on the wording of the ban...and determine how much oversight the county should have over these types of projects.

The minimal abilities we have as a, you know, county agency, so our one avenue is to drive this back to the Texas house and senate and give them our perspective on what these data sets. Especially rural counties, uh, rural counties that are challenged with infrastructure, water, and power, Commissioner Scott Weddle said.

During the meeting, the court said any resolution would not be a 100 percent ban on data centers.

Instead, it would pause any proposed data center at the county level until further research is done by the state of Texas.

It's a move one of our neighbors, Christine Littlefield, is applauding.

Our commissioners, they're, they're from here. They're small-town people. They know and so Im glad that they're taking the initiative to investigate further, Littlefield said. Perhaps in a larger community, they might do better, but I think they show up at the small communities and then things aren't quite as promised.

As data center continue to develop across Central Texas, commissioners also talked about taking a leadership role in the region to push for increased transparency. 

Central Texas has multiple data center development efforts including in Temple, Killeen, Waco and Hillsboro.

Coryell County would be the first in the Central Texas region to pass a ban against data centers. Johnson Couty and Wise County, located near North Texas have passed similar legislation.

Abilene builder Gene Lantrip is on the front lines of Texas population boom, but a new force is making it harder to finish construction on homes. Data centers are poaching the electricians he needs to install light switches and wiring that power his duplexes.

The state has added more than 2.6 million residents since 2020, bringing in a steady surge of workers and families who need homes. But Texas doesnt have enough electricians to meet the demands of two competing priorities: building the housing to meet the needs of a growing state and becoming a global leader in AI.

The centers that drive AI technology require massive facilities to power and cool servers, making electricians critical from construction through long-term operations. Early industry projections show data centers projects will need thousands of licensed electricians, pulling from a limited labor pool.

It's taken us two months longer to build the houses than what it did before the data centers were coming in, Lantrip, 69, said. Thats the downside.

Gene Lantrip stands outside one of his homes in south Abilene Tuesday April 21, 2026. Housing has become a concern in the community as data center workers and an upcoming expanded mission at Dyess Air Force Base mean a tighter supply of residential options. On the outskirts of Abilene, mega companies OpenAI, Crusoe and Oracle invested into a 4 million-square-foot AI data center, Stargate. It joins more than 300 data centers already operating in Texas with about 100 more projects planned.

As tech companies rush to build data centers, they are drawing from the same talent that homebuilders rely on and often come in with bigger pockets to pay. Between 45% and 70% of the entire budget for data center construction goes to electrical subcontractors, according to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a labor union that represents electricians.

The data center in the Abilene area, for example, offers electricians double the wages his subcontractors can as officials aim to finish its construction by the end of the year, Lantrip said.

My subcontractors don't have the people. My electrician, he lost two of his lead men and several of his helpers to the data center, Lantrip said. Of course, the guys got to do good for their families.

The rapid buildout of data centers means a critical strain on demand for electricians, in large part because that workforce is aging out.

The data center workforce impact begins with a truly large construction boom, but then tapers to a more specialized, smaller, longer term operational employment that does involve a lot of electrical and technician roles, said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. This is really going to stress those pipelines.

National trends show roughly 20,000 electricians leaving the workforce each year, with 1 in 3 electricians between the ages of 50 and 70 and nearing retirement.

Texas has about 71,000 electricians employed, according to federal labor data. Even as training programs expand, the pipeline cannot quickly adjust to this spike in demand.

We havent done a good enough job of backfilling with new people coming in, said Scott Norman, the CEO of the Texas Association of Builders, referring to experienced workers retiring faster than new ones entering the trade.

Becoming a licensed electrician requires years of apprenticeship and hands-on experience, which limits how fast new workers can be added.

You cant just snap your finger and say, in six months, were going to have all these other electricians, Norman said.

Texas is loosening licensing requirements to bring workers from across state lines.

Since November, the state has made it easier for electricians from Iowa, Alabama and Arkansas to transfer their licenses to Texas. The idea is that instead of requiring experienced workers from other areas to start over with testing and certification, Texas could quickly tap into an existing pool of trained electricians through a reciprocity agreement with those states.

Scotty Wristen, an Abilene electrician, wires a fuse box in a new south Abilene home on April 21, 2026. Wristen has taken to recruiting young people as apprentices in his industry in response to the Abilene DC1 data center depleting the labor pool of local electricians. I train anybody I can get. We hire them, get them an apprentice card, and start their time on it, he said. State lawmakers last year sought to expand such partnerships, directing the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to maximize reciprocity agreements with other states, so long the level of training and testing is comparable.

Cameron Dodd, a journeyman electrician and the political director of the Austin chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said its too early to see the effects. Still, hes optimistic that broadening eligibility will attract experienced workers who can step directly onto job sites, particularly for large, labor-intensive projects such as data centers and industrial developments.

Were trying to recruit more folks who are ideally already licensedAll the baby boomers and older electricians are going to retire, Dodd said. The reciprocity agreements, that should help.

Various programs within the state are upping their efforts as well. For example, Texas State Technical College aims to grow its programs that train students in electrical skills. Its college officials are advertising the opportunity and higher wages that come with this workforce at job fairs.

Meanwhile, smaller builders are feeling the strain. For them, competing for a shrinking pool of electricians often means delaying projects or taking on the cost of training themselves.

Scotty Wristen, the owner of WE Electric in Abilene, lost five workers to the data centers. He can only afford to pay employees $20 an hour. The data centers outmatch him at $35 an hour, in addition to overtime and per diem benefits, he said.

Some of them were guys that I've had for eight years, five years. They came, they got trained, and they left to go out there, Wristen said. I don't blame them. It's less strenuous work but more time on the clock, or more money to take home to the family."

Wristen tried to get trained electricians on board. But after dozens of students visited his job sites with their teachers, none came back for a job, he said.

To fill the gap, Wristen is hiring teens as apprentices right out of high school.

They're new. They don't even have a set of tools, Wristen said. Its usually about four or five months of hell where we have little mistakes that cost us time and money. Its fixable. And once they are trained in it, you don't have those little deals anymore.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

list of them here

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

Residents showed up to Killeen's Planning and Zoning Commission to voice their concerns about changing the zoning to allow a 'smaller-scale' data center. The Commission voted to disapprove a proposed computing and research annex on South Fort Hood Street.

Watch the story here:

The board voted four to disapprove and one to abstain on the project, which was pitched by Project NG.

The facility would work similarly to a data center but on a smaller scale, utilizing a closed-loop coolant water system. During the meeting at the Utility Collections Building, city leaders asked representatives for Project NG hard questions about the proposal.

"who asked for that here like for a data center here?" Commissioner Scedric Moss said.

"So we work very closely with ONCOR, um, to basically optimize grid networks," the Project NG representative said.

Commissioner Scedric Moss sought clarification on the environmental impact and the facility's water usage.

"For confirmation, you're saying that you're not using any water from Killeen, zero water, and it's not even water that you're using, it's a coolant. It will not be leaked, drained, run off, no accidental spillage or anything into the little creek that's over there by the bridge. So none of that," Moss said as the representative agreed.

Neighbors living near the proposed center spoke up in opposition.

"There are no green spaces in these neighborhoods. The 5 trees they're going to plant are not gonna, they're, they're not fixing it. This same engineering firm was also involved in other construction projects that is assisting them. It's the same engineering firm that floods my property that for 2 years now has still not been fixed," Jamie Carroll said.

A local pastor, next door to the proposed site, also expressed concerns about the disruption the facility could bring.

"This data center and the effect that it's having or will have on our congregation, church. It's not just the building. It's a place of worship, quiet reflection, prayer. It's a community gathering place," the pastor said.

The representative with Project NG said their data center would have less environmental impact than a traditional one and would benefit the city.

"We've seen that across our 5 data centers. We not only employ locally but we try, uh, so there's two aspects of this. There's direct economic impact, which is basically the pre-construction phase, so we employ local uh contractors, local engineering firms," the Project NG representative said.

Locals showed up in strong numbers at a pair of meetings on Friday to express their thoughts on data centers with Hill County Commissioners Court and the Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation -- detailing their thoughts on the impact these developments could have on our community.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Hill County Commissioners Court heard from the community on Friday about tax breaks for future data centers.

Throughout April, commissioners held public meetings focused on the centers and their related tax incentives.

Local residents voiced their concerns, such as Linda Pauley, who told commissioners there are health concerns that could impact our neighbors.

Theres an increase of cancer, theres an increase of heart conditions, theres an increase of neurological problems. Its detrimental to the wildlife. If we dont start taking care of ourselves, whos going to start taking of us," said local resident Linda Pauley.

Moving forward, commissioners will continue working on tax breaks for this and future projects.

The Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation also met a couple of hours later at City Hall, giving residents the chance to voice their concerns. Many shared their opposition to another data center possibly coming to town.

We dont want this, we don't need it, nobody is happy about it," said one local resident.

During public comment, Jennifer Isaacks told the EDC board she wants them to consider their wants and needs.

Its only going to hurt our town worse; nothing is going to get fixed. It doesnt create jobs for us. Im asking if yall are bringing in something industrial, lets bring in something the Hillsboro people can work at," said local resident Jennifer Isaacks.

At the meeting, the board approved a four-month extension to Provident's existing contract. Provident now has four months to present a strategy to the EDC, which then must receive city approval. The data center can withdraw from the contract if certain agreements aren't approved.

Temple residents are gathering signatures to recall the mayor and two city council members following the approval of a new data center.

You can watch the full story here:

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Temple residents launch a recall petition against the mayor and city council over approved data center

Protesters gathered in downtown Temple Friday morning and afternoon to launch a recall effort against the mayor and two city council members following the approval of a new data center.

The approved data center, known as Project Ranger, has led some residents to distrust city leaders. Locals are looking to remove Mayor Tim Davis, Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer Walker and District 4 Council Member Mike Pilkington.

"After eight hours almost talking to them, we knew that we had to take it in our hands to say this isn't the city council for us," April Herboth said.

"If the mayor and the city council members don't care what their constituents have to say about this, then they don't belong where they're at," April Herboth added

Protesters alternated shifts on the corner of 3rd and Central in downtown Temple, holding signs saying "Stop corruption" and "Keep TX beautiful."

Organizers hope to reach 5,000 signatures to recall Davis, Walker and Pilkington.

When asked for a response from city leaders, the City of Temple responded with the following statement,

I reached out to the Rowan Data Center for comment about the community reaction and the recall effort, but they have not responded.

Locals believe the data center is not in the best interest of Temples future.

"The point that I'm making is that our children, our posterity are going to suffer from these consequences that benefit the billionaires not the kiddos," Protestor, Jose Martinez said.

Organizers told me registered voters can take part in the petition. People can sign anytime from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Cotton Patch Cafe at the Temple Mall. Organizers also said they have resources to help those who are not registered to vote.

You can visit here for more information.

Grimes County residents push back against potential tax breaks for incoming tech and energy companies.

Watch the full story here:

Elected leaders at the Grimes County Justice Center are making decisions about possible tax breaks for certain types of tech and energy companies.

Citizens voiced concerns over verbiage changes Tuesday that could allow these companies to apply for local tax breaks. Residents argued that the county needs to push back against data centers and battery energy supply systems, saying the influx of projects is happening too fast.

"Overall, the presentations were if a data center does come here or a solar farm or anybody else make them pay taxes," Karen Shiver said.

"Overall the public commentary was we may not be able to prevent uh data center and solar farm and and all these projects from coming to the county, but we are under no legal obligation to offer any of them a tax abatement," Shiver said.

County Judge Joe Fauth did not want broad language that would eliminate other types of industries from consideration.

"So I wanted to get the language changed in there that if somebody wants to come in and put a power plant in like Taska, let them do it," Fauth said.

Fauth told me that no one has applied for the tax breaks yet.

"No abatement agreements presented to me or to, actually, they're presented to the commissioner typically of the area that it's going to be in, and the commissioner would then bring it to me and then we, the commissioner and I would take it to the court. That's would be normal procedure," Fauth said.

Neighbors told me more research needs to be done about these energy and tech companies.

"And stop hearing just from the people who are selling you this. That's like believing a used car salesman and everything he says to you," Donna O'Connor said.

"The projects that are coming in are numerous and that they are not anything designed to benefit the residents of this county," Shiver said.

"And I just want them to put a pause on them until we can figure out what kind of regulations we actually need and what are the environmental and health issues as well as the financial issues with those," O'Connor said.

There will be another chance for public comment at the next commissioners court meeting on May 6.

After a nearly eight hour city council meeting on Thursday the City of Temple is moving forward with plans for a third data center.

In a 4-0 vote, city council agreed to enter a development agreement with Rowan Digital Infrastructure Data Center. Council approved annexing land for the center.

The agreement establishes a timeline for the project, including possible annexation and permitting. It also states Rowan and the city will work together on future improvements for surrounding roads and other infrastructure.

This would be the city's third data center and Rowan's second development in the city.