KEY POINTS
-
A Las Vegas-based developer unveiled renderings for a proposed $3 billion, 120-megawatt data center in Midtown St. Louis that would also include a hotel and apartment development.
-
The project is still awaiting final city approval after residents raised concerns about water use, noise, air quality, and strain on the power grid.
-
Developers say the project would create more than 1,000 construction jobs, 200 permanent jobs and more than $400 million in taxes and fees over its first 10 years.
A Las Vegas-based developer has unveiled plans for a proposed $3 billion data center project in Midtown St. Louis, where the first phase would convert warehouse space into what would be the city’s largest data center. FirstAlert 4 reported the proposal also includes a hotel and apartment complex near the data center and the Armory building.
The proposed 120-megawatt facility would be built in the former Famous-Barr warehouse building and Armory building, which developer David Daneshforooz’s team now has under contract. St. Louis already has 12 active data centers, according to the FirstAlert 4 report.
City Approval Still Pending
The project is still awaiting final approval from the city. That debate remains active. This week, dozens of residents voiced concerns at City Hall about data center development, including water consumption, noise, air quality and pressure on the electric grid.
Last month, the city’s Board of Public Service approved a conditional use permit after the developers agreed to conditions intended to reduce environmental and utility impacts.
The development around the Midtown St. Louis project comes as Gallup’s first poll on local data center construction recently found 71% of Americans oppose AI data centers in their area. The company found opposition centered on water, energy, pollution, and quality-of-life concerns.
Economic Gains Pitched
Despite growing national trends in opposition to data center development, Daneshforooz said to FirstAlert 4 that the site’s proximity to an Ameren substation makes it attractive from an energy perspective.
He added that Missouri’s large-load tariff is designed to keep major energy users from shifting infrastructure costs to ratepayers.
The Missouri law, passed in Nov. 2025, requires electric utilities to establish tariffs for large electricity users to ensure they pay their fair share of costs without burdening other customers.
A screen capture from FirstAlert4 shows a rendering of the planned $3 billion St. Louis data center. Image: FirstAlert4
Project backers told FirstAlert that the development would create more than 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs, while generating more than $400 million in taxes and fees over its first decade. More than $200 million of that, Daneshforooz said, would go to St. Louis Public Schools.
The data center project was also framed as a catalyst for broader Midtown redevelopment, with future plans for surrounding hotel, apartment and mixed-use projects.
US Data Center Growth Story Continues
Earlier this month ConstructConnect reported that in March 2026, total data center spending of $9.5 billion was recorded, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) total to $46.5 billion. The latest total is well above the comparable level of a year ago when 2025 YTD starts were just $7.3 billion.
ConstructConnect Economists Michael Guckes and Devin Bell said "the latest full quarter results are similar to the explosive growth reported in 4Q2025 when starts totaled an astonishing $44.6 billion, a figure was that was six-times above the historical quarterly average of just under $7.2 billion."
The May 2026 Data Center Report also stated that projections based on 3-month, and 12-month averages put monthly spending in 2026 on track for $186 billion and $121 billion, respectively.
Stay Connected
Stay connected with ConstructConnect News for construction industry news and construction market analysis to stay ahead of what’s building next.
About ConstructConnect
At ConstructConnect, our software solutions provide the information that construction professionals need to start every project on a solid foundation. For more than 100 years, our keen insights and market intelligence have empowered commercial firms, building product manufacturers, trade contractors, and architects to make data-driven decisions, streamline preconstruction workflows, and maximize their productivity. Our newest offerings—including our comprehensive, AI-assisted software—help our clients find, bid on, and win more projects.
ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.
For more information, visit constructconnect.com
