What Is Project Tango?

Project Tango is a proposed hyperscale AI data center development spanning approximately 202.67 acres at Southern Boulevard and 20-Mile Bend, Loxahatchee.

Original proposal (December 2025):

• 3.69 million square feet of total development
• 1.79 million square feet of AI data center space
• 1.9 million square feet of warehouse facilities
• At least 11 data center buildings up to 75 feet tall
• Construction planned in four phases

Scaled-back proposal (following community pushback): Developers reduced the footprint to approximately 1 million square feet of data center after significant community opposition. The site borders protected environmental land, sits near established residential neighborhoods, and is approximately 1,200 feet from Saddle View Elementary School.

This Site Was Approved Before — But Not Like This

Many residents don’t realize this land received approval for industrial use in 2016, which included the possibility of traditional data centers. What’s different now is scale and intensity.

The current proposal originally sought to expand the footprint by an additional 64 acres and shift toward AI hyperscale infrastructure — a much larger, more energy-intensive use than originally contemplated. That change triggered the new county review and a new public vote process.

This is why many residents describe the situation as a bait-and-switch — not because development is new to the corridor, but because the intensity of what’s being proposed changed significantly from what was originally approved.

Why This Location?

Existing Power Infrastructure

The site sits adjacent to Florida Power & Light’s West County Energy Center, a large natural gas power plant. AI data centers require constant, massive electrical capacity. Locating next to an existing power source dramatically lowers development costs and eliminates the need to build new transmission infrastructure.

Land Availability and Prior Zoning

The 20-Mile Bend area has historically been industrial, surrounded by rock pits and utilities. Residential growth in Arden and surrounding communities caught up faster than land-use planning did — which is precisely why the expansion proposal is generating friction now.

County Incentives

Palm Beach County, like many Florida counties, offers incentives and streamlined approvals for projects categorized as technology investment, even when nearby residential communities absorb the impact.

What Residents Are Actually Concerned About

The opposition is practical, not reflexively anti-technology.

Noise

24/7 cooling systems, large HVAC stacks, weekly diesel generator testing, and constant truck traffic. Residents near similar facilities nationally report persistent low-frequency noise that penetrates homes.

Water Usage

Long-term water demand for cooling, drought-period strain on local resources, and uncertainty around discharge and runoff from a large-scale facility in an area already under water resource pressure.

Environmental and Air Quality

Diesel emissions from backup generators, heat discharge, and 24/7 security lighting affecting the dark-sky character that western Loxahatchee residents moved there for.

Jobs vs. Impact Tradeoff

Despite billion-dollar construction costs, hyperscale data centers typically employ 30–100 permanent workers. Residents are questioning whether the permanent community impact justifies the permanent job creation.

Zoning Precedent

The concern that goes beyond this single project: once land shifts toward industrial or technology use at this scale, additional projects become easier to approve. That precedent shapes western Palm Beach County for decades.

The Other Side of the Argument

Supporters and the developer’s representatives make the following arguments:

• The site is already in an established industrial corridor adjacent to an FPL power plant — it was never a quiet residential location
• The project was scaled back significantly (from 3.69M to ~1M SF) in response to community concerns
• Data center infrastructure investment generates significant tax revenue for the county
• The existing zoning already contemplated industrial use of this type; this is an intensification, not a fundamental change of use

These arguments don’t resolve the concerns, but they’re part of what commissioners are weighing. Presenting only one side of this debate would not serve homeowners trying to understand what’s actually at stake.

What Homeowners Can Do

• Attend the July 15, 2026 at 9:30 AM Palm Beach County Commission hearing and register for public comment
• Review public zoning documents at discover.pbcgov.org/pzb
• Track the petition at change.org (search "Project Tango Palm Beach County")
• Connect with the Arden Community Association for updates specific to that neighborhood