Charlotte Data Centers
Charlotte's pause on new data centers runs to Oct. 18, 2027. Two campuses approved before it began are exempt and under construction. Everything we have reported on Charlotte's data centers, newest first.
Updated
The projects
Exempt, under construction
PowerHouse campus, University City Boulevard
A data center campus of up to 2.5 million square feet is under construction at 10800 University City Boulevard, and the city lists it as exempt from the moratorium under state law. Charlotte City Council approved the rezoning, petition 2023-030, on Sept. 18, 2023, for about 124 acres, plus an electric substation planned with Duke Energy. County inspectors have approved footing and foundation work there since Sept. 3. PowerHouse Data Centers, a subsidiary of American Real Estate Partners, markets a 122-acre campus with up to four buildings. The site is in Charlotte's extraterritorial jurisdiction, unincorporated land outside the city where Charlotte handles zoning. Both campuses are building →
Exempt, under construction
Digital Realty campus, Moores Chapel Road
A Digital Realty data center campus of up to 3 million square feet is under construction on Moores Chapel Road, and the city lists it as exempt from the moratorium under state law. Council approved the rezoning, petition 2024-144 filed by Digital Moores Chapel, LLC, on May 19, 2025, for about 156 acres and no more than five principal buildings. The plan commits the campus to a closed-loop cooling system, which recirculates its coolant rather than consuming it. It is also in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, and county inspectors have approved work on a building there since footings on June 4. What the campus must do →
Exempt, by right
Digital Realty, Trade Street uptown
As of May, a Digital Realty data center on Trade Street in the uptown core was proceeding by right, with no council vote needed, and the pause then proposed would not stop it. Our May story →
Paused, per the city's June list
American Tower rezoning, East Charlotte
As of June, American Tower Corporation had proposed a data center in East Charlotte that needs a rezoning, and the city's June list said a moratorium would pause it. The list put the project at up to 40,000 square feet and said it could continue through the rezoning process once the moratorium ended. Our June story →
Timeline
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End of 2028
PowerHouse's planned finish
PowerHouse Data Centers plans construction and delivery of its University City campus through the end of 2028. Our story
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Oct. 18, 2027
Latest end date for the pause
The extended moratorium ends no later than this date. Charlotte City Council Member Ed Driggs said council can lift it sooner if it settles its policies. Our story
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Oct. 26, 2026
Council extends the pause to Oct. 18, 2027
On a unanimous show of hands, council kept the moratorium, which was to end no later than Nov. 5, in place for almost another year. No member spoke against it. Our story
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Oct. 12, 2026
Public hearing on the extension
Heather Bolick, the city's chief sustainability and resilience officer, recommended extending the pause to Oct. 18, 2027. Twenty-eight people spoke; council took no vote. Our story
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Sept. 8, 2026
Committee recommends an extension
The city's agenda for the Oct. 12 hearing says council's Transportation, Planning and Development Committee voted unanimously, by the members present, to recommend that the full council extend the moratorium.
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Sept. 3, 2026
Footings at University City
County inspectors began approving footing and foundation work at the PowerHouse campus. Our story
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June 8, 2026
Council adopts a 150-day moratorium, 11-0
The pause on new data center applications in the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction took effect immediately, to end no later than Nov. 5 or when council approved new rules. Our story
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June 4, 2026
Footings at Moores Chapel
County inspectors began approving work on a building at Digital Realty's Moores Chapel Road campus, starting with footings. Our story
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June 1, 2026
City lists the two campuses as exempt
A staff presentation to council's Transportation, Planning and Development Committee listed the University City and Moores Chapel projects as exempt from any moratorium. Our story
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May 26, 2026
Residents weigh in on the pause
Council held its public hearing on the proposed 150-day moratorium. Our story
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May 19, 2026
County commissioners get a briefing
The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners heard an information-only briefing on data centers and took no vote. Our story
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May 11, 2026
Council unanimously sets a hearing
After a staff briefing, council scheduled a May 26 public hearing on a 150-day moratorium and sent the issue to committee. Our story
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April 27, 2026
A 5-5 tie, broken against a hearing
Council split 5-5 on scheduling a hearing on a pause, and then-Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie with a no vote. Our story
Questions
What is Charlotte's data center moratorium?
A pause on accepting, processing and approving applications for new data centers, which the city's zoning rules call telecommunications and data storage facilities. It covers Charlotte and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, the unincorporated land just outside the city where Charlotte handles zoning. Charlotte City Council adopted it June 8 under state law so the city could study data centers' effects on water, energy, noise and land use and consider rules for them. Our story
When does it end?
No later than Oct. 18, 2027. Council extended it Oct. 26; it had been set to end no later than Nov. 5, 2026. Our story
Can it end early?
Yes. Council Member Ed Driggs said that if council settles on its policies before the deadline, it can lift the moratorium early. Our story
Does it stop the University City and Moores Chapel campuses?
No. Council approved both rezonings before the pause began, and the city lists both as exempt under state law. Both are under construction. Our story
What do those campuses' zoning plans require on water and noise?
The Moores Chapel plan commits to a closed-loop cooling system and has no noise condition. The University City plan has no cooling or water-use condition and requires sound mitigation, such as berms, acoustic panels and inward-facing equipment yards. Our story
Could new city rules still reach them?
Possibly some. Terrie Hagler-Gray, an assistant city attorney supervisor, told council that noise rules would likely apply to existing data centers. But both campuses sit outside city limits, and the city has not said whether a change to its noise ordinance would reach them. Council Member Dimple Ajmera asked staff for a memo on which rules could reach the two sites. Our story
Why can't Charlotte just limit where data centers go?
The city's agenda for the Oct. 12 hearing lists the zoning districts where data centers are allowed by right, with no council vote: general and regional commercial, office flex campus, research campus, manufacturing and logistics, innovation mixed use and uptown core districts. And a 2024 state law, Session Law 2024-57, bars the city from downzoning, or cutting what an owner may build, without the written consent of every affected property owner. Our story
What will the city do with the extra time?
City staff said updating the zoning rulebook would take three to six months and a noise strategy six to nine. Staff would also hire a consultant, set standards by data center size and type, and work with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, the N.C. Utilities Commission and Duke Energy. Our story
What is the data center task force?
A 19-member community task force of technical experts and community leaders, convened by the city, that has given council preliminary recommendations. At the Oct. 12 hearing, one member asked for a longer pause and another said the city did not need another year. Our story
Who decides on data centers, the city or the county?
Mostly the city. A May briefing to county commissioners said zoning in North Carolina belongs to cities and towns and their extraterritorial jurisdictions, and both big campuses are in Charlotte's. The briefing said the only truly unincorporated land left in Mecklenburg is roughly one square mile near Pineville, and that the county's strongest option is engagement with the cities and towns. Our story
Charlotte Extends Data Center Pause to Oct. 18, 2027
Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to keep its pause on new data centers for almost another year. Two campuses already under construction, approved for up to 5.5 million square feet, are not covered.
Charlotte Weighs Data Center Pause as Two Exempt Sites Build
While council decides whether to extend its pause, the two biggest data center projects in the city's pipeline are under construction. Only one must use closed-loop cooling.
Charlotte Data Center Pause May Grow; Two Campuses Exempt
City staff asked Charlotte City Council on Monday to extend the pause on new data centers by almost a year. Two approved hyperscale campuses, allowed up to 5.5 million square feet together, are exempt and can keep building. A vote is expected Oct. 26.
Hendrick Rezoning Pulled From Consent Agenda Over Its Buffer
Petition 2026-019 cleared all four criteria that put a Charlotte rezoning on the consent agenda, where petitions pass together without discussion. It came off the list anyway. What stopped it was whether the 100-foot buffer everyone already agreed to has to be left undisturbed, a question the plan notes do not answer.
Charlotte council approves 150-day data center moratorium
The pause runs through about November 5, and the city attorney said state law exempts projects that already hold valid building permits.
Charlotte hears residents on data center pause; vote June 8
Speakers centered on three projects: two approved hyperscale data centers and a third, by American Tower Corporation, proposed in East Charlotte.
On Data Centers, Mecklenburg Wants a Voice It Mostly Lacks
Mecklenburg commissioners got a deliberately neutral briefing on data centers at their May 19 meeting and signaled they want a position on the fast-growing industry. The catch: under North Carolina law, nearly all the zoning power belongs to the cities, not the county.
Council Unanimously Sets Data Center Moratorium Hearing
A staff briefing showed the city's development code uses one definition of "data center," from a basement server closet to a hyperscale campus.
Charlotte Council Takes On Budget, I-77 and Data Centers
Council convened in special session at 4 p.m. Monday to take up three of Charlotte's biggest active fights, a $4.5 billion budget hearing, a resolution on the I-77 South toll lanes, and the council's first formal floor discussion of data centers. Council Member Malcolm Graham, who chairs the budget committee, was asked twice on television Sunday whether he is a candidate to fill Mayor Vi Lyles's seat after she steps down June 30. Both times he answered with the public hearing.
Lyles Breaks 5-5 Tie Against Data Center Pause Hearing
The Charlotte City Council deadlocked 5-5 Monday night on whether to even schedule a public hearing on a temporary moratorium for new data center approvals. Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie, voting no. Meanwhile a data center campus approved for up to 2.5 million square feet is going up at 10800 University City Boulevard.