BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Wednesday night, state and local officials met with Woodlawn neighbors to discuss a controversial proposed data center in the area.
Security Land and Development LP is behind the project.
It may include a 150 Megawatt data center complex on a 42-acre site at 1500 Woodlawn Drive.
Five acres of land would be donated to BGE for the construction of a new electrical substation.
But many neighbors like Kevin Godfrey are opposed to the plan.
"I grew up in northern Virginia, and I've seen what they've done there, and it's not a very good thing. A question I have is the water usage it's going to take," Godfrey said.
That's a question many other neighbors also had.
Delegate Sheila Ruth told the crowd that she's talked with the Maryland Department of the Environment on the issue.
"There is a water appropriation permit that if any company is going to take water, they have to get that water appropriation permit," Ruth said.
She has her own reservations.
"The good thing is we don't think that this is very far along, so it seems like there's opportunities to influence the process."
But Baltimore Local 24 Business Manager Mike McHale thinks it would be great for the economy.
"My loose guess would be about 1,000 folks working on it while it's being built," McHale said.
In neighbors' questions to the panelist, they expressed concern over air and noise pollution, energy demand, and what happens to home property values after a center is built.
"With all the data centers, they're getting so much tax revenue from them, the property tax rates have gone down, so that's good. But if you look at where the data centers are around the houses, those house values are going down because no one wants to live there," one of the panelists answered.
Representatives from Security Land and Development didn't attend the meeting.
WMAR 2 News reached out to them for comment, but hasn't heard back yet.
The construction of the data center and development of the site could begin as early as June or July of 2026.
