Is a massive AI data center coming to Roseville? City officials answer online rumors
After rumors spread on social media, Roseville city officials this week pushed back on claims that a hyperscale AI data center would be built in the city’s west tier anytime soon.
A user on Reddit raised concerns about a draft environmental impact report, claiming project plans included a hyperscale data center at the corner of Blue Oaks Boulevard and Westbrook Boulevard near 6392 Phillip Road.
City officials said the project documents did not describe the development as a data center. Instead, the proposed development was identified as an innovation center.
The project remains in the early stages of review. It is currently undergoing environmental analysis and would still need several city approvals before any development could move forward.
Helen Dyda, a spokesperson for the city of Roseville, said the city could not speculate about the source of online discussions but encouraged residents to review a frequently asked questions page about the project.
According to the city’s webpage, the proposed Phillip Road project would include a mix of residential, commercial and technology-related industrial uses focused on innovation.
Officials also noted that various data centers have operated in Roseville for years, including facilities such as Quest Technology Management near Foothills Boulevard.
“Data centers have been around for many years, supporting everyday business needs like data storage, backup systems, cloud computing, and other information technology services,” the city webpage said. “They range in size and type, and many of them are small-scale facilities and may even exist within a building or business where you work.”
The webpage said the Phillip Road site would not have the electrical infrastructure needed to support a hyperscale data center, which often houses 5,000 or more servers and are at least 100,000 square feet in size, according to a fact sheet from computing giant IBM. While the New York-based company did not specify how many hyperscale centers it operates, IBM said technology giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft operate or lease space in dozens of data centers across the world.
Roseville city officials said such facilities require “upwards of 200 or 300 megawatts of electric capacity,” nearly as much as the entire city’s power demand, which can reach about 370 megawatts during peak hours.
“Our local electric grid is not designed to allow for a hyperscale data facility,” said the city, which operates its own electricity system, unlike other areas of the capital region served by SMUD or PG&E.
If a data center were eventually proposed, city officials said it would likely be between 150,000 and 200,000 square feet.
“The facility would also be restricted to the use of recycled water,” the city’s website said. “Many colocation data centers support the robust computing needs of modern advanced manufacturing, including electronics manufacturing and medical device manufacturing — industries that are currently operating in Roseville.”
Officials with Panattoni Development, the project’s developer, said no final tenant or end user has been selected for the project. A spokesperson for the company added that the site was not suitable for a hyperscale data center because the city lacks the infrastructure needed to support one.
According to the developer’s website, the proposal includes 100 acres of residential development with a mix of high-, medium- and low-density housing; more than 1 million square feet of innovation and advanced manufacturing space; nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space; more than 20,000 square feet of medical space; and 30 acres of open space.
Roseville officials said the project also includes plans to fund construction of a new 49-megawatt substation owned by the city’s electric utility.
“This substation would serve commercial and innovation uses within the project,” the city’s webpage said. “The Innovation Tech Park zoning would allow a data center which, if proposed for development, could use up to 30 megawatts of that planned substation capacity. The remaining electrical capacity is needed to serve all other development on the site.”
Panattoni’s website said the project would still require review and approval by the city’s Planning Commission and the City Council. If approved, construction would not likely start for at least three to five years.
