RICHARDSON — Noise from the data center was audible from the surrounding neighborhood Thursday afternoon, as GHF took a look at a Richardson data center being used as an example for the Glenn Heights Data Center.
Residents living near the facility say that is something Glenn Heights residents should understand before they visit Richardson on Saturday.
Glenn Heights Future traveled independently to Richardson on Thursday to examine the data center at 1402 E. Lookout Drive and speak with people who live nearby. The facility has been cited as an example as Glenn Heights considers a substantially larger data center development proposed along Uhl Road.
The residents GHF encountered did not share one opinion of the facility.
One described the data center as a good neighbor. Another, whose professional background includes managing data centers, offered a neutral assessment.
Others were considerably less enthusiastic.
Noise emerged repeatedly among residents who described negative experiences living near the facility. Some agreed to speak publicly. Others requested anonymity.
GHF also heard it.
A continuous mechanical sound was audible during Thursday’s visit and appeared to originate from the direction of the data center. GHF did not conduct technical sound measurements and cannot determine the equipment producing the sound, its decibel level or whether it exceeds any applicable noise standard.
The observation did, however, provide firsthand context for what residents described.
That context will matter Saturday when Glenn Heights residents are brought to Richardson to see what a data center operating near homes looks like.
What they see may only tell part of the story.
“Do your research”
Marla’s family lives near the Richardson data center.
She agreed to speak publicly about her experience and offered direct advice to Glenn Heights residents.
“Do your research and understand what they are telling you and what they are not telling you.”
Other residents who spoke with GHF but requested anonymity also raised noise concerns. Concerns about the facility’s proximity to nearby park space also surfaced during conversations.
One resident urged Glenn Heights residents to become informed about the potential effects of data center development before construction begins.
GHF will not publish information that could reasonably identify residents who requested anonymity.
Those conversations do not represent a scientific survey of the neighborhood, and they should not be interpreted as evidence that every resident surrounding the facility opposes it.
GHF found evidence to the contrary.
Not every neighbor objects
Skip described the Richardson data center as a good neighbor.
He said the facility does not bother him and cited electrical reliability as one benefit. Skip said he has not experienced a power outage while living near the facility.
Sal offered another perspective.
His professional background in information technology includes experience managing data centers. Sal described his view of the Richardson facility as neutral.
Those perspectives matter.
Data centers provide infrastructure that supports everyday digital services, cloud computing, financial systems and the rapidly growing use of artificial intelligence. The question facing Glenn Heights is not whether that infrastructure has a purpose.
The question is what a development of this scale could mean for the community that will live beside it.
That question becomes more significant when Richardson and Glenn Heights are compared.
Richardson is not Glenn Heights
The Richardson facility at 1402 E. Lookout Drive was built for State Farm in 2015, as reported by Data Center Dynamics.
The building contains approximately 129,170 square feet on 15 acres, with reported electrical capacity of 4.5 megawatts expandable to 13.5 megawatts.
The development proposed in Glenn Heights is on an entirely different scale.
The economic development agreement between Glenn Heights and AMF Mission Critical covers approximately 139.76 acres at 1118 S. Uhl Road — more than nine times the land area of the Richardson facility residents will see Saturday.
The agreement requires at least $250 million in capital investment during Phase I and a Phase I building containing at least 50,000 square feet.
The difference in acreage does not mean Glenn Heights would experience nine times the noise, electrical demand or any other effect associated with the Richardson facility. Acreage alone cannot support those conclusions.
It does expose a significant limitation in using Richardson to reassure Glenn Heights residents about what could be built in their community.
A 15-acre facility can show residents what one operating data center looks like.
It cannot answer what a nearly 140-acre data center campus would look, sound, or feel like at full buildout.
Those answers require more information.
Residents need to know the anticipated square footage and electrical demand of each Glenn Heights building, the expected size of the completed campus, the number and type of backup generators, cooling systems, noise mitigation measures, electrical infrastructure and setbacks from surrounding neighborhoods.
Without those details, Richardson provides an example.
It does not provide an equivalent.
What Saturday can show
Security restrictions will prevent Glenn Heights residents from entering the Richardson data center Saturday.
Residents instead will see the exterior of the facility and hear information about its operation.
The visit can provide useful information. Residents can see the building, observe its surroundings and ask questions directly.
A scheduled visit has an obvious limitation, however.
Seeing a data center is not the same as living beside one.
GHF sought that perspective before Saturday.
The answer was not unanimous.
One resident described a good neighbor. Another remained neutral despite professional experience with data centers. Other residents raised concerns, with noise emerging repeatedly.
GHF independently observed an audible mechanical sound during the visit.
None of that establishes what residents would experience if the Glenn Heights development moves forward.
It does establish questions worth asking before Richardson is treated as reassurance.
How many noise complaints have been associated with the Richardson facility? What equipment produces the sound heard from surrounding areas? What mitigation measures are in place? How frequently are generators tested? What would be different in Glenn Heights?
Most importantly, how does a 15-acre Richardson facility compare operationally with a proposed Glenn Heights campus covering nearly 140 acres?
Saturday gives city officials and project representatives an opportunity to provide those answers.
GHF will attend the Richardson visit and report on what residents are shown, what officials and project representatives say and which questions remain afterward.
Marla hopes Glenn Heights residents arrive prepared to ask their own.
“Do your research and understand what they are telling you and what they are not telling you.”
Follow the full project: See GHF’s Glenn Heights Data Center timeline, Chapter 380 agreement, source documents and continuing coverage: www.glennheightsfuture.com/data-center
*Glenn Heights Future Will Submit An Open Records Request To The City of Richardson For Noise Complaints Surrounding The Data Center.
