A Miami-based developer proposed a 20-story data center at 10th and Central in Kansas City’s Quality Hill neighborhood, with the project scheduled for public review Aug. 5.
The proposal has drawn mixed reaction, with some residents and preservation advocates questioning demolition, noise, power demand, and the project’s value to the neighborhood.
The developer says it is still in due diligence, while local groups are organizing ahead of upcoming public meetings and the formal city review process.
A Miami-based developer proposed a 20-story data center in Kansas City’s Quality Hill neighborhood, setting up a local debate over preservation, infrastructure, and what kind of development should shape one of Missouri's historic downtown districts.
The proposed project, according to a July 7 report by KCTV5, would rise at 10th and Central and would stand 384 feet tall. The plan was submitted in early June by Revitalization Unlimited, and architects Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill.
The project is described primarily as a communications service establishment, or data center. A coffee shop is also expected on the first floor.
The project would include the large-scale mechanical and cooling infrastructure typical of modern data center development. Even so, key questions remain unresolved, including what specific end use the facility would serve and what level of demand it could place on the electric grid.
Those unanswered questions are part of what is making the proposal a flashpoint in Quality Hill, where residents and community stakeholders are now trying to assess what the project would mean in practical terms for the neighborhood.
Late last month, ConstructConnect economists Michael Guckes and Devin Bell reported that U.S. Data Center construction year-to-date spending now stands at $58.1 billion, more than four times the record level set over the same period in 2025. With the surge of data centers, local resistance to the construction projects has appeared in various locations.
"Community opposition to data center projects is intensifying and could increasingly shape where construction goes forward", Bell wrote in a separate article.
[Read the July 2026 ConstructConnect Data Center Report]
A rendering of the proposed 20-story data center tower in Kansas City's Quality Hill area. Image: KCTV
The site now includes the Western Newspaper Union building, which KCTV5 reported was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Historic Kansas City has already signaled opposition to the idea of replacing the structure with a tower-scale data center, arguing that downtown’s growth has been strengthened by reusing historic buildings rather than removing them.
Neighborhood reaction appears mixed. KCTV5 reported that some residents questioned whether the proposal would add meaningful public value, while others said a downtown location may make more sense than pushing data center development into less-developed areas.
Concerns raised publicly so far include construction disruption, proximity to a nearby school, noise, air quality and the broader quality-of-life impact on residents.
In comments reported by KCTV5, Revitalization Unlimited said it is still conducting due diligence under zoning rules adopted earlier this year and that it is too early to say whether the project will move forward or secure funding.
The developer also said concerns about environmental impact and noise are premature at this stage. KCTV5 reported the company expects the project to use Bloom Energy fuel cell technology and said any noise would be comparable to standard equipment used in other high-rise buildings.
The proposal has already gone before Kansas City’s Development Review Committee and is expected back for another meeting July 14.
The next major public step is an Aug. 5 hearing before the City Plan Commission at City Hall, with online access also available. That hearing will likely become the clearest early test of whether the project can win enough support to move forward.
For now, the Quality Hill proposal reflects a broader tension playing out in many cities around how to accommodate data center growth while addressing neighborhood concerns over land use, power demand, and the costs of development.
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