Sophia Baltodano | Staff Writer
As artificial intelligence continues to grow, a proposed data center just 15 minutes from FIU is raising questions about environmental and community impacts, while Florida’s SB 484, signed May 7 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, now requires large data centers to pay for their own electricity costs instead of passing them on to residents. The law also gives local governments more control over approvals and adds protections for state water resources.
Similar projects have faced opposition in Florida and across the country. People have raised concerns about increased electricity and water use, noise and the environmental impact of building large data centers near neighborhoods. As AI continues to grow, including the one near FIU, communities are weighing the economic benefits against the strain these facilities may place on local resources.
Metrobloks is developing a proposed 15.2-megawatt data center at 500 NW 137th Ave., designed to power artificial intelligence (AI). As companies continue investing in AI, projects like this are becoming more common across the country, bringing new concerns about energy use, water consumption, and how these facilities fit into nearby communities.
Crismary Pascarella, an FIU architecture professor, said her biggest concern is not the facility’s proximity to campus, but its location within an already rapidly developing urban area.
“I’m not worried about being close to campus. I’m worried about it being close to the actual city,” Pascarella said. “We already know the issues associated with having a data center close by the consumption of energy, the sound, the deforestation.”
Pascarella said South Florida has already experienced decades of rapid development, making it important to carefully consider where large infrastructure projects are built and how they fit within existing communities.
“What we’re doing is just terrible to the environment, to people, to the waters,” she said.
She said developments like this should be planned carefully to balance technological growth with the needs of surrounding communities and the environment.
According to Consumer Reports, data centers are essentially large buildings filled with thousands of servers that store and process information. AI programs require much more computing power than traditional internet services, which means these facilities also need large amounts of electricity and cooling to keep equipment from overheating.
Pascarella said architects and planners are often left out of conversations surrounding large data center developments despite their expertise in sustainable design.
“They will never bring an environmentalist, they will never bring a planner or an architect,” Pascarella said. “We’re always thinking about humans, the environment, their impact, and how to make things that are site-specific.”
Despite growing discussions about AI data centers across the country, two students interviewed by PantherNOW said they had never heard about the proposed facility near FIU before.
A senior in Digital Communication and Media, Dylan Teboe, said he was surprised to learn a data center was planned so close to campus.
“I don’t think the public is being informed enough,” Teboe said. “I go to FIU and I’ve never heard about this until today.”
As someone studying digital media, Teboe said AI has already changed how people create and share content online. He said AI-generated videos and images have improved so quickly that it can be difficult to tell what’s real, sharing that he’s been fooled by AI content before.
“I always thought of AI-generated video as something to worry about in the future, but it’s already had dramatic effects on what I see on social media,” he said.
While Teboe said he occasionally uses AI to help with research, he said understanding the amount of infrastructure needed to support the technology has changed the way he thinks about using it; he added that learning more about the data centers powering AI has made him more cautious about relying on it.
Another senior and Biochemistry major, Marcela Diaz, said projects like this deserve close attention because of their potential impact on wildlife, water resources and nearby communities.
“Florida and the Everglades specifically are very, very delicate environments,” Diaz said.
She said South Florida’s wetlands and marshes make the region especially environmentally sensitive and believes environmental impacts should be carefully considered before construction begins.
“What will happen to the wildlife around it? What will happen to the people around it?” Diaz asked.
Diaz said projects like this should be thoroughly evaluated to ensure they do not create long-term consequences for nearby communities or the environment. As conversations about AI infrastructure continue to grow, she said those questions should remain part of the discussion.
With construction expected to continue, the proposed AI data center is likely to remain part of a growing conversation about AI’s expansion and its impact on surrounding communities.
This story was updated on July 9, 2026
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