Three informational meetings are scheduled for this upcoming week regarding projects that could have major impacts across the western communities.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will hold a virtual meeting on the long-delayed plans for construction of State Road 7 from 60th Street North in The Acreage to Northlake Blvd.
An in-person meeting on the SR 7 Extension will be hosted by FDOT from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center, located at 151 Civic Center Way.
Sandwiched between the two SR 7 meetings on Wednesday, Feb. 25 will be an informational “town hall” hosted by Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter about the proposed AI hyperscale data center — known as “Project Tango” — west of the Arden development near 20-Mile Bend. The meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. also will be held at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center.
The meeting will create “an opportunity for residents to share comments, ask questions and provide public input on the record,” according to Baxter’s Instagram page.
Baxter represents the proposed location of the data center, Arden and most of the county west of SR 7 on the Palm Beach County Commission.
The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors moved its regular meeting twice so that board members and other ITID staff and regulars can attend the town hall if they wish. ITID’s meeting now is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m.
Longtime Supervisor Betty Argue said she was unsure if she would attend.
“While I think it is good to have informational meetings, this strikes me as an attempt to quash public sentiment,” she said. “I’d rather attend the commission meeting and state my opinion there.”
The immediate fate of Project Tango will likely be decided at the county commission’s April 23 meeting. The seven commissioners will either approve the project, or the developer, PBA Holdings Inc., will have to resubmit plans and go through the planning and zoning process again. A majority vote is needed for approval.
“I don’t plan to vote for the project if residents continue to oppose it,” Baxter reiterated during an interview. “The main goal of the town hall is to give the residents and update on where the project stands and to make sure residents are fully informed.”
Ernie Cox, spokesman for the developer, said this week that he wants the same thing — for residents to have factual information about the project as it continues to evolve.
Cox said that plans are now for the data center to move to the west side of the 202-acre property and be scaled down from the planned 1.8 million square feet.
Also planned for what is formally known as the Central Park Commerce Center is some 1.9 million square feet of warehouse space, he said, adding that it is possible a warehouse will be located between the data center and Arden, creating an additional buffer beyond plans for berms and vegetation to absorb sound created by the facility.
“We’re committed to addressing their issues,” Cox said about Arden residents and others voicing concerns. “We’re going to have experts there who people can talk to one on one.”
However, Arden HOA President Raymond Penuela said Tuesday that nothing short of a non-AI data center, as proposed in the developer’s original 2016 plan, would make him reconsider his opposition. He is also concerned that the acres set aside for warehouses may eventually be recast for hyperscale AI data usage.
“Experts we’ve talked to say the warehouses are just placeholders that will be converted for AI,” Penuela said. “They’re just using that to appease [commissioners] and get approval.”
The warehouses are a separate project unrelated to the data center, Cox said.
Cox is an attorney and founder of Family Lands Remembered LLC, a consulting firm that seeks to “strike the balance between environmental conservation and economic development,” according to its web site.
While acknowledging there have been problems with some AI data centers, Cox said, “We only work on projects that can be done the right way. We believe this data center can be done the right way… Knowing what I know about what we’re doing in this project, I would have no problem living in Arden.”
Meanwhile, FDOT is ready to move forward with plans for the SR 7 Extension in the wake of the May 2025 ruling by administrative Judge Francine Ffolkes rejecting the City of West Palm Beach’s claims that roadway runoff would be discharged into or otherwise damage the Grassy Waters Preserve.
The project is in the design phase, according to materials shared by FDOT. Plans are to begin construction in the fall of 2028 with completion anticipated in the fall of 2031 at a cost of $137.6 million.
The purpose of the extension is to “provide a safe, efficient and environmentally sensitive connection” between Okeechobee and Northlake boulevards and “improve community connectivity” in the western communities, FDOT stated.
For more information on the project and the meetings, visit www.sr7extension.com.
