ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Some three-hundred low wage workers and community allies packed today's (Sunday's) town hall in opposition to a one-and-a-half billion dollar data center in the Armory in Midtown.
During the public meeting, a growing coalition of opponents shared concerns that the project is a bust, driven by the greed of tech billionaires.
The workers say the data center will significantly harm poor and working class Saint Louis residents and surrounding communities at a time when families are already struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, and take care of their children.
Like the failed data center proposal in Saint Charles, the business is a secret, and opponents say the developer is grossly inflating the tax revenue this project will generate.
The Armory has a 15-year tax abatement and is eligible for other tax incentives, including tax credits from the State of Missouri.
The following is a release sent out following the town hall.
Hundreds of workers, public school parents, and community members with Missouri Workers Center, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Action St. Louis, Missouri Jobs with Justice, The People’s Plan, Service Employees International Union, Sierra Club St. Louis, Faith for Justice, Democratic Socialists of America St. Louis, Abortion Action Missouri, Ecosocialists Green Party of Eastern Missouri, Freedom Arts & Education Center, Party for Socialism and Liberation St. Louis, Metropolitan Congregations United, and WEPOWER packed a town hall today in opposition to the Midtown Redevelopment Corporation’s proposal to join the data center boom with a $1.5 billion data center redevelopment project of The Armory. During the public meeting, convened by Missouri Workers Center, a growing coalition of opponents shared concerns that the project is a bust — driven by the greed of tech billionaires — that would significantly harm poor and working class residents of St. Louis and the surrounding region at a time when families are already struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, and take care of their children.
“In other places these kinds of data centers have meant higher electric bills, less water pressure, and they don’t even create good paying jobs,” said Isabel, a leader with Missouri Workers Center. “Data centers are being used to expand AI and automate more jobs than they'd create. I’d rather have my hard earned tax dollars go toward projects that strengthen our communities’ ability to live better.”
“Energy usage today in St. Louis already constitutes a public health crisis. Coal consumption at Ameren's Labadie coal plant alone — –without data centers increasing the demand — –already results in an average of 195 deaths annually and is predicted to cause over 3,000 more before its planned retirement in 2042. Burning fossil fuels is also contributing to the deadliest weather event in the country: heat.” said Maxine Gill, of Missouri Coalition for the Environment. “City residents deserve information and input into the decision- making process for industrial uses that cause harm to health and environment.”
Beyond public health impacts, a recent public report by Missouri Public Service Commission estimated that existing customers could be on the hook for $22 million a year just to upgrade the state's power infrastructure to create adequate capacity for data center developments, increasing the utility burden on St. Louis residents who are already juggling bill payments to make ends meet.
Data Center construction has accounted for 92 percent of U.S. GDP growth in 2025. While some in St. Louis are clamoring to join the data center boom, experts at the community town hall expressed doubts about the long-term benefit of these projects, economic and otherwise.
“The developer is grossly inflating the tax revenue this project will generate. The data center’s value will decline so much that the estimate should at least be reduced by half,” said Dan Pate, a researcher who specializes in tax incentives. “On top of that, The Armory has a 15-year tax abatement and is eligible for other tax incentives, including tax credits from the State of Missouri. They’re just not being transparent about the real costs and benefits of this development.”
The Armory is currently subject to a 15-year tax abatement and eligible for other tax incentives, including tax credits from the State of Missouri.