A proposal to redevelop the former Walmart store at Midtown Center on Milwaukee’s northwest side was held following a tense, seven-hour Plan Commission meeting Monday night, as commissioners said the proposal warranted further discussion.
Throughout the day, residents lined up to voice their opposition, joined by hundreds more who submitted virtual and written statements echoing the same concerns. Before the hearing, attendees circulated signs that read, “People’s Needs Over Developer Greed” and “Housing and Libraries Without Data Centers” along with printed slips titled “Data Center Moratorium in Milwaukee Now!”
The opposition is in response to a proposal to redevelop the site at 5825 W. Hope Ave. The project would feature three components: 200 units of affordable housing, a Milwaukee Public Library branch and a 108,000-square-foot building redeveloped for a self-storage and data processing and computer research services facility operated by AFS Milwaukee LLC. The data facility would occupy 19,000 square feet of the building previously occupied by the Walmart store, which closed in 2016.
But residents said they are worried about the data facility’s potential impact on air, water and noise quality, as well as water and energy consumption. Many also questioned whether the community would benefit more from a different type of development, rather than a data facility or self-storage site.
“A storage facility, a data center — that is not the best use of that property,” said Stacy Smiter, president of The Milwaukee chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. “I want y’all (the plan commission) to base it on what is the best use because. . . we waited 10 years.”
Resident Samantha Doucas added that “there’s a red carpet for a storage center, but not a second thought for medical services or community center or anything else.”
Trent Overhue, the Springfield, Missouri-based owner of AFS Milwaukee LLC, attempted to address those concerns. He said the facility would use five gallons of water or less per day and total maximum utility capacity of 10 megawatts of electricity, noted that a noise study had been completed and stated operations would not pollute local water sources.
Responding to concerns about the type of data the company stores, Overhue said AFS handles biomedical data for entities like pharmacies and universities, with several locations nationwide, and described the facility as a “small edge site,” not a traditional data center.
Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump supports the proposal, calling it “unquestionably better” than a previous version brought forth in 2023 and said it “will represent a positive step forward for the Midtown Center.”
But Doucas and many others argued that changing terminology — whether calling it a data center or a research facility — does not change their stance.
“No matter what you term it — if you call it a data center or a data research facility. . . Capitol Heights (neighborhood) does not want or need a data center,” Doucas said.
City staff initially recommended approval of the proposal with 15 conditions, including an independent investigation of a similar facility owned by the developer to determine its impact on nearby residents.
Still, two separate votes, including one to approve with conditions, failed to pass.
For now, the project remains at standstill, with no indication of whether it will return for consideration at the next Plan Commission meeting.
