CLAREMORE — Claremore city leaders approved a major tax incentive package Monday for a proposed $1 billion data center, advancing one of the region’s largest economic development projects despite sustained and, at times, heated public opposition.
The Claremore City Council voted 7-2 to approve the deal, clearing the way for “Project Mustang,” a multi-phase development planned for the city’s industrial park. The first phase would include a roughly 400,000-square-foot facility, according to the Tulsa World.
The end user has not been publicly identified, though the project is expected to serve a major technology company.
Monday’s vote followed a more than three-hour meeting marked by packed chambers, overflow crowds and sharply divided public comment. About 30 residents addressed the council, with most raising concerns about environmental impact, property values and transparency. Some opponents also threatened legal action and began circulating a recall petition targeting council members, the Tulsa World reported.
City officials and project backers pushed back on those claims, arguing the development represents a relatively low-impact use for industrial land and a significant long-term investment in the local economy.
Under the approved agreement, the project would operate under a 25-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) structure, with annual payments tied to the facility’s square footage. Local school districts, including Sequoyah and Oologah-Talala, are expected to receive the largest share of those revenues.
Project representatives said the facility would use an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of water per day — primarily for restrooms and sinks — which city officials said is comparable to or less than other commercial uses.
The developer, San Francisco-based Beale Infrastructure, has been involved in multiple data center proposals across northeast Oklahoma.
The Claremore project still faces additional planning, permitting and regulatory reviews at the local, state and federal levels. Construction could begin as early as this fall.
The vote comes as communities across Oklahoma increasingly weigh the economic upside of data center investments against concerns over infrastructure demands and local impacts.
Read the original story from the Tulsa World.
