OPINION: Kenwood plan falls short
The Kenwood Academy property on the southern edge of Albany is the best swath of developable land in the city - a perfect place to do great things. Given that, it's logical to ask what Albany and its region need and what the 76 acres at Kenwood could provide. Answers will vary, but most residents could probably agree that the city needs jobs, housing and a boost to its tax rolls. So far, a proposal to build a technology park with a large data center at Kenwood falls short on at least two of those goals. As detailed by Times Union business reporter Larry Rulison, the property's owner, the EKG Group, hopes to build a technology campus anchored by a 500,000-square-foot data center. Additional development on the land once owned by the Society of the Sacred Heart might include research labs, offices and as many as 300 apartments. But it's the data center that's generating the most attention and controversy, and rightly so. It would be the most significant use of the property, and its electricity needs would be, to put it mildly, considerable. In November, EKG filed a request with the New York Independent System Operator to use up to 180 megawatts of power at the site; the firm now says the data center could use 100 megawatts. EKG says the data center would not be a "hyperscale" data center, but 500,000 square feet, spread over three buildings, is plenty large. For comparison's sake, consider that the entire Central Warehouse contains about 400,000 square feet of space. Also consider that one megawatt is considered enough to power 1,000 homes. So, yes, this thing would be very big. How would the city and broader region benefit from the data center? Would such a large new electricity demand affect utility rates? Would there be other environmental considerations? And is EKG's data center and related development really the highest and best use for so valuable a property? On the last question, we're skeptical, given the city's needs. The prospect of up to 300 apartments sounds nice, but that's a relatively low number for such a large parcel. And while EKG says it envisions 500 full-time workers at the site, eventually, details about those jobs are entirely vague and speculative. So is EKG's claim that the site might someday generate $190 million in state and local tax revenues over 10 years. We urge city, county and state officials to tread carefully as they evaluate the proposal. The city, in particular, would need to rezone the property to allow for the data center, and we see no reason why it should hurry to do so. The county needs to resolve $8 million in outstanding property taxes, and we see no reason why it should cut the developer a generous deal. Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, must decide whether to sign the Legislature's newly passed one-year moratorium on data center construction, and we urge her to do so. As we've said, hitting pause in the face of the onrushing construction boom would allow state officials to fully consider the costs and consequences of data centers like the one planned for the Kenwood property. As currently proposed, the Kenwood plan isn't good enough. Albany residents and officials should expect, and demand, more.
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