Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pittsburg approves incentives for Wildcat Data Infrastructure data center at Airport Industrial Park
Summary
The Pittsburg City Commission approved an incentive package on Jan. 28 to support Wildcat Data Infrastructure LLC’s proposed data center on 15 acres of the Airport Industrial Park, including a land sale at $2,500 per acre, a five-year 50% electricity franchise-fee rebate and up to $75,000 toward utility extensions.
The Pittsburg City Commission on Jan. 28 approved an incentive package to support Wildcat Data Infrastructure LLC’s proposed data center on 15 acres in the Airport Industrial Park, including sale of the land at $2,500 per acre, a rebate of 50% of the electricity franchise fee for five years and a cost share for water and wastewater service with the city’s share capped at $75,000.
Commission discussion and a presentation by city staff and company representatives laid out the project timeline, expected power needs and projected local revenue. City economic development staff said Evergy has committed to move an initial 10 megawatts of capacity to the airport site and the company expects to scale the site to 50 megawatts over roughly 18–24 months. Company representatives told commissioners the project could generate immediate local revenue once energized and that phase 1 could be operational by May 1, 2025, weather permitting.
The commission’s approval follows a recommendation from the Economic Development Advisory Committee and includes a purchase agreement provision giving the city a right of first refusal to repurchase the property at the same sales price if construction has not commenced within five years. City staff said the water/wastewater cost-share would come from the city’s revolving loan fund and would not exceed $75,000.
Company representatives said initial operations at 10 megawatts would involve a small on-site team of about five to six employees and estimated roughly $500,000 per year in government payments at that scale, with the city receiving approximately $10,000 monthly in sales-tax revenue at 10 megawatts and larger amounts if the site expands. They described the build as modular: a smaller, faster phase 1 commissioning followed by additional, larger construction for phase 2.
Commissioners asked about utility and service extension logistics; city staff said Evergy has already staged equipment to extend power toward the west side of the Airport Industrial Park and that the planned substation expansion would likely be constructed by the developer as part of the project. Staff noted that having power located on the west side of the park would make additional adjacent acreage more attractive to future industrial prospects.
Moved by Commissioner Stu and seconded by Commissioner Doc, the motion to approve the incentive package carried unanimously. Mayor McNay and Commissioners Sigley, Brooks, Munsell and Haidt voted in the affirmative.
City legal staff prepared the draft purchase agreement shown to commissioners; staff said the agreement includes the five-year right-of-first-refusal clause as a protection for the city. The commission did not set additional conditions at the meeting and directed staff to finalize the sale and related agreements.
