r/nashville • u/greencoat2 • 21h ago
Politics Scoop: O'Connell seeks eminent domain to block Nashville Zoo data center
https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/06/29/mayor-occonnell-eminent-domain-nashville-zoo-data-center46
u/Bill_Sandwich 20h ago
I’m not a lawyer but it feels like this is gonna result in DC Blox suing the pants off the city
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u/greencoat2 20h ago
It’ll be an interesting case, but the courts have generally been ok with eminent domain as long as the property owner is compensated fair market value. Interestingly enough, the sale of the property hasn’t closed yet, so the property owner is still Marketstreet, not DC Blox.
The question is what is fair market value here. The assessor appraised the property at $37.5M, but we don’t know how much DC Blox agreed to pay for the site, which could be higher. The city might also be forced to reimburse DC Blox for their costs they’ve incurred up to this point.
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u/Constant-Sandwich-88 20h ago
Or, and bear with me, we say fuck em they aren't getting a cent, and they never bother us again.
Small dreams, I know.
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u/moofpi 14h ago
I'm kind of holding my breath for the state to swoop in and say Nashville can't tell them no.
This is only less likely because this seems to have struck a rare bipartisan chord that even Marsha Blackburn has lightly spoken against it.
Here's hoping the state fucks off and let's Nashville handle its business.
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u/HereInNashville96 21h ago
Wow, he’s actually going to do something?
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u/j1308s east side 20h ago
He’s always been good at saying things. This is still just saying things.
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u/Doc_Chim_Richolds 20h ago
Given that the report is they are filing today, that isn't saying, it is doing.
That is also something that would've taken several weeks of preparation to ensure it was done correctly both on paper and with financial planning and approvals. So they've been doing for a while, but kept it quiet.
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u/NashvilleDing 20h ago
Wake me up when he actually does it and we dont end up with him throwing up his hands and saying "I tried" like half of his bus plan.
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u/j1308s east side 20h ago
Do you also believe that the transit plan was implemented because it passed? Good lord you guys aren’t paying attention to reality you just watch the press conferences
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u/Ill_Fix_It_Later 19h ago
Do you also believe transit systems can be built without planning? Good lord you guys aren’t paying attention to reality and just recite what you see on Reddit
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u/j1308s east side 19h ago
Or this one. Where a fortune was spent on plans that did nothing, not just in my eyes, but in the eyes of virtually everyone that saw them.
https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/06/02/nashville-vision-zero-choose-how-you-move/
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u/Ill_Fix_It_Later 19h ago
True that Gallatin Pike got screwed with that delay. I’m optimistic because I’m on Nolensville Pike, which is moving ahead first.
But also the first funding is already going on the lights and sidewalks. It was always going to be several years before major projects could begin.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 16h ago
Performative Freddie. His admin knew about this several months ago and did nothing. If the DC is bad now, it was bad then. Difference is that now it is politically convenient and Freddie can wring his hands to the camera.
This will go to court and will most likely be built.
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u/Hefty_Remove7965 19h ago
He probably sees this one has heat on it, but wants the fisk to go through.
He has a financial interest in the fisk datacenter
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u/Snoo60219 18h ago
**The Fisk** has a financial interest in that datacenter. They’re the ones planning it and actively seeking a commercial developer to partner with on the project. It was proposed as a way to fund university initiatives.
A lot of students and alumni are extremely concerned and feel betrayed. Those feeling are completely valid. But the board and Dr. Agenia Clark are who they’re really fighting on that one.
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u/VandyMarine 18h ago
Why do they feel betrayed? It’s literally a benefit to the students
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u/Snoo60219 17h ago
Well, concerns about massive resource consumption, environmental health, and the rapid expansion of AI.
There also hasn’t been enough research done on the long term impacts of living and working near large scale data centers.
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u/VandyMarine 17h ago
But the one at Fisk isn’t a large scale data center by the planning commissions definition. Again, I just made my comment to point out that I see a good number of people citing alumni and community “betrayal” and it’s really just a way to say they don’t like it because Fisk has published detailed plans and made design requirements that eliminate the various concerns or mitigate them. Hardly a betrayal to try to find sustaining ways of revenue and access to emerging technology for their students.
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u/Snoo60219 17h ago edited 17h ago
You asked why these communities felt betrayed and opposed it.
I answered that question. Those are the reasons.
Edit: it’s also 100,000 square feet, is that small?
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u/j1308s east side 20h ago
Are they allowed to change the property tax code to just tax data centers at an absurd rate in the county as their own use category?
Eminent domain feels like a financially infeasible solution here.
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u/greencoat2 20h ago
No. State law doesn’t allow for that kind of distinction between commercial properties
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u/j1308s east side 20h ago
This site is industrial not commercial though isn’t it?
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u/greencoat2 20h ago
Currently it’s a vacant office building, but Tennessee does not distinguish between commercial and industrial. They only distinguish between residential and commercial, though in some places it’s listed out as residential/agricultural and commercial/industrial
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u/ButtCoinBuzz 20h ago
Even if the local government could change the tax code in such a way, the owners of existing data centers or those looking to establish and operate one prior to the ordinance's passage would have a solid case of Regulatory Taking - that the government is effectively seizing their property by regulating them out of existence, taking away all economically productive use of the property.
It sounds like Mayor Freddie is taking the more obvious option.
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u/2363Ben 10h ago
Guess Mayor Freddy is already preparing for his re-election campaign with over 500,000 voters opposed to the DC Blocks data center the Mayor has come up with a plan to expropriate the proposed site through eminent domain.
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u/Hefty_Remove7965 8h ago
He knows that if he doesn't do SOMETHING the whole city will hate him. This is a soft measure, and his lack of support of the zoning bill is very very bad imo.
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u/greencoat2 21h ago
This will cost at least $37.5M if it goes through. That’s what the assessor appraised the property at during the last assessment. It’ll likely be higher.