Prince George’s County officials presented their case for establishing a data center at the site of the old Landover Mall during an Oct. 25 meeting at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover. Attendees expressed broad concern, with some calling the plan risky and environmentally racist. Public outcry, along with a petition with over 21,000 signatures, made it clear that much of Prince George’s County does not want a data center complex in Landover.
County politicians have supported such projects in the past, however. The proposed data center would create hundreds of jobs, at least during the construction phase, and bring in significant tax revenue for the county, which is facing a $147 million operating deficit in fiscal 2026.
Brightseat Associates, an affiliate of the real estate company Lerner Enterprises, proposed the $5 billion Landover project, which would include five data centers. Lerner projected the centers would generate $53.5 million annually in local tax revenue.
“We have a money problem,” Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay (District 6) said, during the meeting. “We want to make sure that this is worth the squeeze.” Blegay is a member of the data center task force.
According to Washington Business Journal, data centers have been established in many parts of the country as tech and artificial intelligence have fueled record-breaking demand for data creation and storage. Financial and business news website Business Insider cites 1,240 such centers were approved for construction or built in 2024, with most in California and Texas. Maryland currently has 44 such buildings with 22 in Frederick, 14 in Baltimore and the remainder scattered north of Washington, D.C., according to industry resource Data Center Map. Tech-heavy Northern Virginia, the world’s largest data center market, has more than 500.
County Executive Aisha Braveboy issued an executive order Sept. 15 pausing data center projects after public concern over the Landover site rapidly grew.
Prior to the meeting, local advocates and the District of Columbia’s Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a 30-minute press conference outside the Sports and Learning Complex. The press conference drew a crowd of about 50; five speakers talked about the potential impact of data centers.
Landover resident Taylor Frazier McCollum launched the petition against the Landover data center. During a speech before the Oct. 25 meeting, she said, “We ask the task force to listen to the people, to hear the anger, frustration and concern. There is no confusion. The people do not want data centers in Landover or Prince George’s County.”
Yifan Huang, of PSL, said that the task force did minimal community outreach and that few people knew about the Landover project before McCollum and PSL drew attention to it.
“It’s telling that, in a sense, we’ve done [the task force’s] job for them. We’ve been bringing people out to their meetings,” Huang said. “The Landover data center has already been approved, and people didn’t even know. … There’s a lot to be said about the lack of engagement with the community.”
Huang said locals are largely concerned about energy consumption; a data center typically houses thousands of servers. According to a 2024 report released by the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers accounted for approximately 4.4% of the country’s electricity consumption in 2023. The report estimates that by 2028, centers will account for 6.7 to 12% of total electricity consumption.
Blegay was skeptical of the long-term benefits of data centers, telling The Laurel Independent a Landover facility would likely create only a “handful” of jobs. At the same time, she acknowledged the massive economic boon it would be to the cash-strapped county.
At the meeting, Blegay, who was elected to the county council in 2022, said the council would repeal an earlier vote that allowed data centers to bypass county approval.
Councilmember Krystal Oriadha (District 7) said during the meeting that she is “against data centers anywhere” and would work to keep them out of Prince George’s County.
In speaking with The Laurel Independent, Oriadha said, “My hope is that some of my colleagues will lean toward me. … I think the community made it clear that [opposing data centers] is not an isolated position. It’s not just me that thinks that. There’s an overwhelming majority of the community that feels that way.”
About 300 people attended the meeting that turned into an open forum after attendees demanded their concerns be heard.
County resident Donna Oriowo was one of a number of meeting attendees who said that development of the data center constituted environmental racism. Just under 58% of county residents are Black.
“Why here of all the places you could put it? If the rich, white, billionaire elites really think this is the best thing ever, why did they not put it in their own backyards when they have acres and acres of land?” she said. “They don’t want it near their families.”
A number of meeting attendees criticized Gov. Wes Moore, whose Make Maryland More Competitive Act has streamlined the approval process for proposed data centers in an effort to bolster the state’s economy.
Darron Witten was the only speaker in support of data centers. He has worked in data centers for 15 years, he said.
“These generators don’t pollute,” he said. “These generators, the new stuff they’re using, is non-pollutant.” Other attendees booed and heckled him in response.
Oriadha and Blegay thanked everyone for attending and for sharing their thoughts. Oriadha asked that they stay engaged with their local government and elect people who will fight for them.
In speaking with The Laurel Independent, Oriadha said, “I’m the one vote you got [against data centers]. We just have to be better as advocates, not just yelling but educating ourselves about what’s really going on.”