A real estate developer’s plan to build Florida’s first hyperscale data center — taking up more than 1,300 acres of land in Polk County — is humming along despite misgivings by some locals.
Earlier this month, the planning commission for the small town of Fort Meade, about 40 minutes southeast of Lakeland, voted unanimously to approve a 20-year agreement with the developer on the project, a Maryland company called Stonebridge. The city council is scheduled to vote Tuesday evening on final approval. At least one local advocacy group encouraged residents to show up in opposition.
But there could be an unexpected snag related to the project’s water use…