Irving planning commission backs CoreSite data center recommendation with conditions
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Summary
The commission recommended the CoreSite data center zoning and a related conditional‑use permit to city council, citing voluntary mitigation including an air‑cooled system and expanded landscaping; commissioners expressed concern about off‑site power routing but voted to forward the case.
Tommy Mann, representing CoreSite, presented a plan for a multi‑tenant colocation data center on roughly 37 acres near Loop 183, describing two‑story buildings with 128,000‑square‑foot footprints and an expected two‑story gross area closer to 250,000 square feet per building. Mann told commissioners the company had voluntarily offered design enhancements beyond city standards, including an air‑cooled system and an enhanced landscape buffer of roughly 140 additional trees between the project and a nearby mobile home park.
“The building in and of itself will be a meaningful buffer from the noise from I‑83,” Mann said, and described the project as a deliberate, multi‑tenant approach rather than a single hyperscaler buildout. He said CoreSite had modeled a worst‑case power route that could add poles to U.S. 183 but that consultants identified two feasible tie‑in options and that Encore (the transmission owner) had not committed to a route.
Why it matters: commissioners cited the site's topography, the applicant's mitigation commitments and lower ongoing truck traffic compared with an industrial warehouse as reasons to support the project despite staff concerns. Mann also highlighted estimated local tax receipts (business and personal property taxes presented to the commission as about $9,000,000 per year to the city and roughly $171,000,000 over 30 years) as an ancillary public‑revenue benefit.
What the commission did: after questions about overhead pole height, undergrounding and the ability to limit visual and acoustic impacts with screen walls and trees, the commission voted to recommend the zoning case and move the CUP forward to City Council with a stipulation that an air‑cooled system be included in the CUP conditions. Commissioners recorded no public opposition in the hearing record and placed the cases on the city council docket for Feb. 12.
Key details: Mann said CoreSite would not request variances from the city's new data‑center standards and that the buildings would be designed with architectural features to reduce the 'blank box' appearance. His team provided traffic‑generation modeling showing a roughly 50% reduction in daily trips compared with a potential warehouse use. On power, Mann said the project's consultant found two equally plausible transmission tie‑in options and that CoreSite preferred the option that avoided running new lines along the 183 frontage but could not compel Encore to select that route.
Next steps: The commission forwarded the zoning and CUP to City Council for final action on Feb. 12. The city will be asked to consider the CUP stipulations (including the air‑cooled requirement and the voluntary landscaping enhancements) and any conditions the council chooses to add.
