The AI boom is creating a new kind of real estate race in Florida, and the projects are getting too big for local politics to ignore.
Billions of dollars are being committed to hyperscale data centers across the state as developers position Florida to capture growing demand for the computing power behind artificial intelligence.
But some of the biggest projects are running into resistance from residents, local governments and politicians.
That tension is becoming one of the defining questions of the AI infrastructure buildout: How much infrastructure does a community want, and what is it willing to give up to get it?
A report from The Real Deal highlights two of the most closely watched projects in the state, a $2.6 billion data center campus planned for Fort Meade and Project Tango, a proposed 1 million-square-foot facility in Palm Beach County.
Both illustrate the enormous economic opportunity around AI infrastructure, as well as the complications that emerge when hyperscale development meets local communities.
Billions Behind the Buildout
The Fort Meade Data Center campus is planned for approximately 1,300 acres of a former phosphate mine.
The project, linked to Maryland-based Stonebridge Associates, would encompass roughly 4.4 million square feet and represents an estimated $2.6 billion investment.
Polk County commissioners previously approved a $150 million, 10-year tax break for the development.
The scale is significant, but so is the opposition. The project is now facing lawsuits and a recall effort, according to The Real Deal.
That combination illustrates why data centers are increasingly becoming a local economic-development issue rather than simply a technology story.
These facilities require enormous amounts of land, electricity and supporting infrastructure. They can generate substantial construction activity and eventually create highly skilled technical jobs, but communities also have to consider how those requirements fit into existing plans for land, utilities and public resources.
Project Tango Faces Its Own Fight
Palm Beach County offers another example.
PBA Holdings is behind Project Tango, a proposed 1 million-square-foot hyperscale facility in Loxahatchee.
The project has already encountered a complicated combination of ownership disputes, zoning opposition and political scrutiny.
Palm Beach County commissioners voted 5-1 in July to reject an amended zoning application for the project. The rejection was without prejudice, meaning the developer can submit another application.
The project also became entangled in a dispute between landowners, with WPB Logistics seeking an injunction related to the development application.
The politics surrounding the project have attracted additional attention because companies associated with it have made substantial political contributions.
Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter returned a $10,000 contribution from PBA Holdings after criticism and recused herself from the vote after publicly expressing opposition to the project.
The controversy doesn't necessarily mean the underlying economic case for data centers is weak. It shows how difficult it can be to reconcile large private investments with community-level decisions about development.
“The developers behind those projects are equally splashy.” - The Real Deal
The Infrastructure Trade-Off
Data centers are fundamentally different from conventional commercial development.
A new office building might require roads, parking and conventional utility connections. A hyperscale AI facility can require infrastructure on an entirely different scale.
The computing demand behind modern AI systems means developers need reliable access to enormous amounts of electricity. Facilities also require sophisticated cooling systems, fiber connectivity and substantial physical infrastructure.
That creates both an opportunity and a constraint for Florida.
The state has the land, population growth and business environment that can make it attractive to technology infrastructure developers. Former industrial and mining sites can also offer opportunities to reuse land that might otherwise have limited development potential.
But local governments have to determine whether the economic benefits justify the infrastructure demands and whether proposed projects fit the long-term interests of surrounding communities.
That calculation is likely to become more important as AI computing demand continues to grow.
Why Florida Matters to AI
The debate is happening at a particularly important moment for the AI industry.
The biggest technology companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars globally on data centers, chips and electricity to support increasingly capable AI systems.
That spending eventually has to translate into physical infrastructure somewhere.
Florida wants some of that investment.
The Fort Meade and Palm Beach County projects show that developers are willing to put substantial capital behind that opportunity. They also demonstrate that communities are not necessarily prepared to approve every project simply because it carries an AI label.
That may actually be healthy for the industry.
The AI infrastructure race needs investment, but it also needs planning. Data centers have long operating lives, and decisions about where they are built can affect power systems, land use and surrounding communities for decades.
The question isn't whether Florida should build AI infrastructure.
It's where, how much and under what conditions.
The Politics Are Getting Bigger
The data-center debate is also becoming part of Florida's statewide political conversation.
Politico reported that Byron Donalds' gubernatorial campaign has received substantial financial support from data-center developers and other technology interests. At least four developers pursuing or previously proposing data centers in Florida have made five- or six-figure contributions to his political committee, according to the report.
“Our aging grid cannot meet the increasing power demands of data centers.” - Byron Donalds, as quoted by Politico.
That includes $100,000 from Palm Beach Aggregates and $250,000 from Phillips Infrastructure, companies associated with Project Tango. Fort Meade LLC contributed another $10,000.
The political environment is complicated by growing public opposition. A University of North Florida poll cited by Politico found that 68% of Floridians surveyed opposed building an AI data center in their local area, compared with 28% who supported it.
Donalds has subsequently emphasized protections for residents and ratepayers while continuing to argue that Florida should remain open to data-center development. He introduced legislation arguing that private developers, rather than taxpayers, should bear the infrastructure costs associated with the facilities.
That puts Florida's AI infrastructure debate in an interesting position. The economic case for data centers is substantial, but political support cannot simply be assumed because a project promises investment and jobs.
What This Means for Miami
Miami isn't the center of Florida's hyperscale data center development, but the region has a significant stake in what happens next.
South Florida's technology, real estate and investment communities are increasingly connected to the AI infrastructure economy. Data centers support the cloud services, enterprise AI applications and digital businesses that Miami's growing technology sector depends on.
The debate also offers an important lesson for local developers and policymakers.
AI infrastructure can bring investment, construction activity, technical jobs and stronger digital capacity. But large-scale projects also need to address electricity, land use, environmental impact, public incentives and community concerns from the beginning.
For Miami and South Florida, that could become increasingly relevant as demand for AI infrastructure spreads beyond the traditional data-center markets.
Florida's current fights may therefore be less a rejection of the AI boom than an early negotiation over what that boom should look like.