Peoria’s industrial corridor may be trading some of its warehouse vibe for server racks and fiber lines.
Plano, Texas-based Aligned Data Centers has filed planning documents with the City of Peoria for a two-building data campus totaling about 916,000 square feet on a roughly 95-acre parcel at 75th Avenue and Butler Drive. The proposal would convert a large chunk of an existing industrial park into one of the Valley’s bigger data-center footprints if it clears city review, marking another major expansion of hyperscale and wholesale capacity in the Phoenix metro.
What the plans show
The planning documents describe two buildings that together would measure about 916,000 square feet on a 95-acre site at 75th Avenue and Butler Drive, within an industrial park that already hosts big warehousing tenants like Frito-Lay and Trader Joe’s, according to ABC15. The filing lists the site in a zoning district that permits data-center uses, which gives the proposal a clearer path than if a rezoning were required.
About the developer
Aligned is a national hyperscale operator that has been building large campuses across the U.S.; Data Center Dynamics notes the company now runs campuses in markets including Phoenix, Dallas and Northern Virginia. That track record of multi-building sites helps explain the scale of the Peoria filing and why local planners are treating it as a major industrial project rather than a typical warehouse buildout.
Why neighbors and officials are watching
Valley residents and public officials have repeatedly pushed back on large data-center projects over concerns about power, water and on-site generation, a dynamic seen during the fight over Project Baccara, according to ABC15. Utilities and local officials say serving big electrical loads requires coordinated upgrades and that large customers typically fund those improvements, a point underscored in coverage by the Arizona Capitol Times. Those competing pressures, jobs and investment on one hand, infrastructure and neighborhood impacts on the other, are likely to shape the review of the Peoria filing.
The planning documents are now part of the city’s public record and will go through the standard review and public-hearing process handled by Peoria’s planning staff, the Planning and Zoning Commission and, if required, the City Council, per the city’s meeting procedures posted on the municipal agenda portal. NovusAgenda explains how applications are scheduled for study sessions, public comment and formal votes. Residents who want to weigh in can typically find agendas and staff reports online ahead of hearings…