The developers behind Project Marvel, the massive, controversial $14 billion data center proposed for a wooded area on the edge of the majority-Black city of Bessemer, Alabama, are a step closer to breaking ground.
Earlier this month, the Bessemer City Council voted to change city zoning to allow for data center projects in areas zoned for light industrial use. The council also rezoned a number of properties from agricultural to light industrial use, including the parcel that Project Marvel is proposed for.
The vote came despite broad public opposition, environmentalists’ warnings about the “hyper-scale” project’s environmental impact, and lingering questions about why Mayor Kenneth Gulley and other city officials signed non-disclosure agreements with the developers. But council members insisted the vote was about data centers writ large, and not Project Marvel…