Dozens of Benbrook and west Fort Worth residents packed into Benbrook United Methodist Church on Monday night, grilling the details of a proposed $1.1 billion data center campus that City Hall is weighing for the Veale Ranch area. Neighbors said they felt shut out of key talks on tax breaks and the project’s appetite for power and water, and many are now organizing to speak up at the next City Council meeting. The church gathering has set the stage for a very public showdown as council members prepare to take up a formal incentive package later this month.
What’s being proposed
The developer, Edged, a unit of Endeavour, is pitching a two-phase, 186-acre data center campus at the southeast corner of Interstate 20 and Chapin School Road, with roughly $1.1 billion in planned investment, according to industry trackers and city documents. Data Center Dynamics reported that the site sits inside the Veale Ranch master plan and is tied up in a land transaction expected to close in mid 2025, and city presentations describe plans for an on-site substation and coordination with the regional grid operator.
Neighbors push back
Residents from Benbrook and nearby neighborhoods said they were caught off guard to learn that a large industrial-style campus could land so close to existing subdivisions, and that official notice about the project has been limited. Jan Brignac, who started rallying neighbors after first hearing about the proposal last year, told the crowd she viewed the City Council briefings as “just a dog and pony show,” according to local reporting. Fort Worth Star-Telegram coverage also quotes Chapel Creek Neighborhood Association president Gary Hogan, saying residents are making a difference.
What the city is weighing
On the incentive side, city staff is recommending a 10-year tax abatement that would cover 50% of incremental city taxes on business personal property tied to the project’s equipment. Officials peg the value of that break at about $18.2 million if Edged hits its performance targets. Even with the discount, city projections shown at a recent work session estimate the agreement would generate roughly $49.3 million in net new tax revenue over the life of the deal, per Fort Worth Inc.
How this fits with other Fort Worth projects
The Veale Ranch fight is unfolding alongside other major and contentious data center plans in Fort Worth, including a separate proposal that news reports say could climb to $10 billion in total buildout. Those larger projects have already triggered calls for extra briefings and tighter scrutiny from both residents and some officials. Fort Worth Star-Telegram has chronicled those battles, and earlier this month, Hoodline published an overview of the Veale Ranch incentive proposal.
What happens next
Organizers at Monday’s church meeting urged neighbors to sign up for public comment at the upcoming City Council session, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31, when the economic development agreement for the campus is slated to come up for discussion. Data Center Dynamics reported the council timeline, and the city lists the City Council Chamber at 100 Fort Worth Trail as the hearing location, per the City of Fort Worth.
