Palm Beach County Board Rejects Project Tango AI Data Center

The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-1 on July 15, 2026, to deny the proposal for Project Tango, which would have been Florida's first hyperscale AI data center. The decision followed a public hearing lasting over 12 hours, during which hundreds of residents from the Arden community and representatives from Wellington raised concerns regarding noise, vibration, water usage, and the project's proximity to Saddle View Elementary School.

Developed by PBA Holdings Inc., the proposal sought to expand the site to 3.6 million square feet, including over 1 million square feet of data center space. Project manager Ernie Cox argued the facility would operate like a modern office park with minimal off-site impact, using a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water consumption. However, the board concluded that the developer failed to adequately address environmental and community concerns. The application was denied without prejudice, allowing PBA Holdings to revise and resubmit the proposal in the future.

While the expansion was rejected, Cox noted that the vote does not affect existing approvals for two 100,000-square-foot data center buildings. The board also implemented a moratorium on new data center applications to establish future development parameters. This local decision aligns with a broader national trend of resistance to AI infrastructure, including a recent moratorium in New York that President Donald Trump criticized as a terrible decision.