Proposed 250,000 Sq Ft Data Center in Monterey Park Faces Community Pushback, Decision Deferred December 5, 2025 A major data center development project in the Greater Los Angeles area has hit a significant hurdle, highlighting the growing tension between rapid digital infrastructure expansion and local community concerns. The proposal for a 250,000-square-foot facility in Monterey Park, California, was met with substantial public opposition, forcing the city council to postpone a crucial vote. The Monterey Park City Council was scheduled to decide on the project's approval on Wednesday, December 4th. However, facing vocal resistance from residents worried about potential utility bill increases, environmental impacts, and perceived procedural issues, the council opted to delay its final decision until January 21, 2026. The proposed data center, to be built on a 15.8-acre parcel at 1977 Saturn Street, is backed by Australian investment firm HMC Capital. The firm acquired the site in late 2024 for $39 million and filed for public review of the development last October. If approved, the two-year construction project would result in a facility with a substantial power footprint. Plans indicate the site would house 14 emergency diesel generators, each with a 4MW capacity, suggesting a total potential power capacity of approximately 56MW. HMC Capital, which reports $18.7 billion in assets under management, launched a data center-focused real estate investment trust, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, last year as part of its expansion into the sector. The incident underscores a broader challenge for the data center industry, particularly in established markets like California. As demand for computing power, especially for artificial intelligence, continues to surge, developers are increasingly looking to build in populated regions near major connectivity hubs. However, this case demonstrates that community acceptance is no longer a formality. The deferral in Monterey Park serves as a cautionary tale for other developers, indicating that proactive community engagement and transparent addressing of environmental and economic concerns are becoming critical prerequisites for project approval, even in traditionally data center-friendly regions. Source: datacenterdynamics
Proposed 250,000 Sq Ft Data Center in Monterey Park Faces Community Pushback, Decision Deferred
