NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Fisk University announced a $1 billion master plan in May that will take shape over the next decade. That plan includes a data center.
The data center will be housed in the $400 million, 100,000 sq. ft. Innovation Center. In the Innovation Center will be academic space and the 70,000 sq. ft. technology center. It will be built on five acres of land on the southern portion of campus.
Petitions have popped up on the data center set for the North Nashville area. One speaks on concerns over noise levels, and water and energy consumption.
"The noise and air pollution that data centers produce are also alarming. The constant hum of servers and cooling systems, combined with the increased traffic from service vehicles, would disrupt the peace of our neighborhood," says the petition, published by Kaylynn.
The other recalls how Fisk University fought against the construction of I-40, and now the community must stand up and fight again.
When the Quantum Leap master plan was unveiled, Don Hardin, president of the Don Hardin Group, said neighbors will not see added cost due to the data center.
“We probably study the impacts of data centers across the country, more than anybody because we want to make sure we do it right,” Hardin said. “When NES approved us having accessible power, they made sure that if we have something like a data center or a major power usage, no utility bills will spill on any other neighbors."
In a post to social media, Fisk University said the facility would be 30 megawatts. The facility would draw from a powerline already underground. The data center will be built on property Fisk already owns.
Currently, the petitions have a few thousand signatures all together.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Megan.Scarano@newschannel5.com
Young or old, we all love to play board and card games! Those games become even more important when you are indoors and don't have the ability to get outside, like patients in a hospital. Austin Pollack shares the story of students in a Nashville family who have helped re-launch the Red Wagon project to collect games for patients at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
- Lelan Statom
