Construction has begun on a somewhat scaled down, 35,000-square-ft., 10 megawatt data center in Palm Coast’s Town Center that will be a cable landing station for undersea internet cables, including one owned by Google. The cables will emerge from the ocean in Flagler Beach, which almost two years ago signed a deal with the company for use of rights-of-way in the city.
DC Blox claims on its website that the facility will accommodate 16 undersea cables. In its deal with Flagler Beach, the city agreed to up to six, not 16. The company also states on its webpage about the project that it is Built on over 20 acres to accommodate long-term growth. In fact, based on site plans and other development documents obtained by FlaglerLive, the facility is on 7 acres that DC Blox sold to another company last summer. The business will employ 15 people.
The project has been cloaked in secrecy until now. DC Blox operated under a provision of state law that allows certain economic development initiatives to be confidential for one to two years. DC Blox operated under that cloak even though it revealed its plans at Flagler Beach City Commission meetings two years ago.
The project was originally referred to by its code name of Project Orchid, and subsequently, when DC Blox sold the parcel, as “Parakeet Gumbo.” The building is frequently referred to as a “telecommunication office building” rather than a data center. On Feb. 20, 2025, DC Blox sold 7 of its 34 acres in Town Center to Tarpon Services of Wilmington, which filed the site plan.
Based on a geotechnical engineering report prepared for the company in September 2024, the building plan at the time was submitted as a 50,460-square-foot facility. As late as last summer, the plan called for a 33,408-square-ft. “data center building,” as described by a city document, and a 13,250-square-foot equipment yard, totaling 46,709 square feet. At that size, it would still have had to be publicly vetted and approved by the city’s planning board.
Planning Manager Phong Nguyen let the company know: “Please address in details the MEP equipment yard because it makes a difference whether your application is approved administratively or going to Planning Board,” he wrote in his comments in response to the site plan application. By October, the building had been scaled down, enabling it to keep the plan out of public view.
“Projects that are 40,000 and greater up to less than 100,000 are required to go before PLDRB and projects 100,000 sq ft and greater will have to go before PLDRB and City Council,” Planning Manager Phong Nguyen said in an email. “Since DC Blox project is under 40,000 sq ft, it was reviewed and approved administratively.”
The city issued a development order on Oct. 21, 2025, after approving the site plan, when it was still rejecting FlaglerLive’s requests for the records, which were made available on Feb. 27. (The applicant is Ajit Abraham, a project manager of data center at Jacobs, the global company.)
According to its site plan, the data center will sit on a 7-acre site south of Royal Palms Parkway and west of Town Center Boulevard. The building will be 34,875 square feet (including a 52-square-ft. Guard house), stretching just over 263 feet in length and 131 feet in width and rising 32 feet. The facility will have a screened mechanical, electrical and plumbing yard. Roads and parking will cover 76,300 square feet. (See an aerial perspective here and here and the site layout here.)
The company is not saying how much water the data center will use, only that it will use limited amounts. “Unlike many data centers of the past, our data centers use a closed-loop water cooling system,” DC Blox said in a company “fact sheet” issued through the city. “The system is filled once with utility water but then continuously recirculates water throughout the system without the need to replenish its supply or to expel used water into the environment. The overall water usage of our facility is similar to that of a small commercial building.”
For water, according to construction plans, the site will connect to an existing 8-inch water main that runs along Town Center Boulevard. A 2-inch water service line is planned for the building, and an 8-inch line for the building’s fire protection. A July 2024 test of the fire hydrant near the site measured a flow of 1,060 gallons per minute.
The company says the data center will be quiet. But even if it consumes 10 megawatts of electricity, the city will not capitalize since it has neither an electric utility tax nor an electric franchise fee on the books, either of which would have generated substantial revenue for the city.
Access roads will be built to accommodate a 75,000-pound fire truck. The developer will construct on-site sidewalks and pay into a fund for off-site sidewalk requirements. All utilities will be underground and their maintenance will be the company’s responsibility. Reclaimed, or recycled, water will be used for irrigation. There will be anti-climb security fencing and a crash-rated exit gate.
A commercial building of 40,000 square feet would have normally required about 100 parking spaces. The company is seeking a special exception to limit spaces to 17 since it will only employ 15 people in the building. It is providing one EV charging station.
An environmental assessment completed in August 2023 found no significant environmental resources on the site, whether gopher tortoises or bald eagles. The Town Center Architectural Review Committee headed by Walker Douglas of Douglas Property and Development analyzed the plans and recommended a few changes in August 2025, down to the ampleness of trees. The committee was to have “ultimate approval authority of the building,” according to correspondence between the principals.
“We’d prefer to see trees at a height of 8’ to 10’ with a spreading canopy, and avoiding narrow tree profiles by using more evergreens,” Douglas wrote. But he also foresaw that “It’s going to take [a] number of years before this landscaping blocks out the street view, we’ll be looking at the building for quite some time.”
The project is anticipated to take a year and a half.
Deborah Coffey says
Well, the Fascists in Tallahassee have allowed these guys to keep a lot of secrets. What good does this do for Palm Coast? Even if the part about not using lots of water is true, only 15 people will work there. I suppose they’ll pay taxes? We’ll know soon enough if we really regret allowing this….
Mark says
Overall it looks like a good plan though I didn’t see any mention of generators used for power backup in the event of a power grid failure. Those are generally tested monthly if not weekly and sorry, but they are not quiet.
Endless dark money says
Look at Tampa they have a couple. They are telling citizens to conserve water, don’t wash your car ect ect… water shortages. Enjoy paying higher rates so corporations can automate jobs. Data center me are a net gain for the community absolutely nowhere…
Engin Ruslpostur says
I only hope we do not regret this foolish decision. While there are numerous environmental risks, the greatest risk we have is the risk of becoming a target for terrorists. The cables, the landing zone and the data center are known targets for attacks to disrupt communications, worldwide. Are we prepared to defend this data center as required? Could the revenue from this project possibly cover those costs? The UK MI5 has already identified terror threats to their offshore cables . This surely seems to be a bad choice for a small town that doesn’t even have its own police force!
The UK is boosting defenses against an escalating, “existential” terror and nation-state threat to undersea communication cables, which carry over 95% of global internet data. Recent concerns, particularly involving Russian submarine activity near critical infrastructure, prompted joint UK-Norway naval patrols and calls for strengthened, sovereign repair capacity to prevent economic chaos.
Key Aspects of the Threat and Response:
Targeted Vulnerabilities: Subsea fiber-optic cables are identified as “uniquely vulnerable” to sabotage, specifically from state actors like Russia, China, or terrorist groups using deep-sea grappling or mining.
Russian Activity: UK officials and NATO allies have tracked increased Russian submarine operations near cables in the North Atlantic. Defense Secretary John Healey warned that a 30% increase in Russian activity near UK waters is being monitored.
Economic Impact: Experts warn that cutting these cables could cause “catastrophic” disruption to the financial and communication systems, potentially crippling the economy.
Attacks on remote cable landing sites and supporting technology infrastructure (E.g. Data Centers) become more likely, and security must be improved.
Actionable Defense Measures: A UK parliamentary report advises strengthening military deterrence, improving surveillance, and expanding domestic capability to repair severed cables.
Regional Protection: In April 2026, UK and Norwegian navies conducted a joint military operation to stop “nefarious” Russian surveillance on vital infrastructure
Donna Turpin says
We know these data centers use astronomical gallons of water per day to cool these mega computers as well as the electricity that is needed. The cost of that will absolutely fall on the citizens of Palm Coast. This will only be a detriment to all of us as our bills will at least double It isn’t even bringing employment to our city as it will only have 15 employees! This is a win for the money hungry elected officials and a total burden on its citizens and the fact that they all kept it on the down low is proof. We need to bombard every single meeting to let them know we don’t want it. We elected them therefore they do what we want, at least that’s how it’s supposed to work.
Gina says
“Either way, the generators spew noxious chemicals into the air. These include fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds — a smoggy stew linked to lung cancer, respiratory ailments and higher risks of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and early death.
Data centers also fuel pollution indirectly. The huge amount of electricity they devour is typically produced using gas or, even dirtier, coal.
In an analysis published in 2024, a team led by researchers at the University of California at Riverside estimated that by 2028, data centers could contribute to roughly 600,000 asthma cases a year nationwide, and 1,300 premature deaths from the condition.”
The Health Divide: The AI data center boom will harm the …
centerforhealthjournalism.org/our-work/insights/…
Jan 20, 2026 · These include fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds — a smoggy stew linked to lung cancer, respiratory ailments and higher risks of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and early death. Data centers also fuel pollution indirectly.
JeffM says
I live about a mile from this as the crow flies. I’m hoping that distance is enough I won’t be impacted by at all, but there is a new apartment complex right across the street from it and a new subdivision across Royal Palms from it. Not to mention all the existing homes from Point Pleasant to the canal along Royal Palms. It’s enraging they bypassed any sort of public hearing or vote by just skirting the requirements by this supposed downsizing of the project. The thing is this company owns adjacent land to it. They’ll absolutely use it to expand. The whole thing stinks. It’s of no benefit to Palm Coast and it’s ridiculous it was even allowed right smack in the middle of the city. This is the kind of operation more fitting for an industrial area. As a small city with mostly homeowners we weren’t even given the chance to voice concerns. It’s sickening.