Palm Beach County Staff Approve Nearly 700,000 SF of Project Tango Data Centers

Palm Beach County zoning staff have administratively approved a plan that roughly triples the data center space allowed on part of the Project Tango property, raising the allowance to just under 700,000 square feet. The October 7 approval, reported this week, came less than three months after county commissioners voted 5-1 to reject a larger expansion of the same project, and it moved forward because the application was filed before the county's moratorium on new data center applications.

What Happened

Staff approved a reassignment of previously unassigned square footage on the portion of the site owned by PBA Holdings, without a commission vote or a new public hearing (WPTV, via WFLX). Stet News reported that Zoning Director Wendy Hernandez granted the approval on October 7, that it does not require commission review, and that it is final barring a court challenge (Stet News).

Hernandez told WPTV that the proposal was filed before the moratorium took effect, so staff could continue reviewing it and ultimately approve it (WPTV, via WFLX).

What Was Approved

• Data center space: Up from the previously approved figure to just under 700,000 square feet. WPTV puts the prior allowance at 206,000 square feet, while Stet News reports 200,000 square feet rising to 698,000 (WPTV, via WFLX; Stet News).
• Buildings: Two 288,000 square foot data center buildings, one 122,000 square foot data center building, 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space, and a utility building and offices (WPTV, via WFLX). Stet News describes 122,000 square feet of support offices and a utility building (Stet News).
• Site: About 202 acres off Southern Boulevard at 20-Mile Bend, near the Arden community (Stet News).

Conditions Attached

The 2016 approval that originally allowed data center and warehouse space on the property carried no conditions, according to WPTV. The new approval does (WPTV, via WFLX):

• No data center buildings within 850 feet of the property line near Arden.
• Noise at neighboring homes capped between 50 and 60 decibels depending on time of day, with continuous sound monitors and county access to the data.
• A county water utility commitment of no more than 100,000 gallons per day for the entire site.
• Battery storage that meets fire safety requirements.

Stet News also reported a requirement for a closed-loop water coolant system and sound studies (Stet News).

How It Got Here

In 2016, the county approved 206,000 square feet of data center space and 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space on the property, leaving about 600,000 square feet unassigned (WPTV, via WFLX). The larger Project Tango proposal became public in December 2025. On July 15, after a hearing that WPTV said ran about 12 hours, commissioners voted 5-1 to deny an expansion that sought more than 1 million square feet of data center space (Stet News; WPTV, via WFLX). Stet News described that July request as seeking roughly 1.6 million square feet of added development overall. In August, the commission approved a one-year moratorium on new data center applications (Stet News).

PBA Holdings has appealed the July denial under Florida's Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act, and no hearing date has been set, according to Stet News.

Where Things Stand

The site has two owners, and the second could add more space. Hernandez told WPTV that WPB Logistics, which owns roughly 60 acres of the property, has filed its own proposal that could add about 1.2 million square feet of data center space, also without a commission vote; that application is still under review (WPTV, via WFLX). Stet News described WPB Logistics as holding an option on land along the eastern buffer and reported that the two owners are in a legal dispute (Stet News).

Residents of Arden oppose the result. One, Ben Brown, called the approval "a betrayal," and neighbors argue it undercuts the commission's July vote (Stet News). WPTV said it asked Ernie Cox, the project's main manager, to respond to residents' concerns, and that his team had not responded by publication (WPTV, via WFLX). Stet News also reported that commissioners were scheduled to vote on paying a consultant, VHB, up to $225,000, after the county dropped a planned expert task force in favor of the consultant (Stet News).

No project cost or power capacity has been reported for the approved buildings.

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

The case shows how much an existing entitlement can matter in a market where new approvals are hard to win. Unassigned square footage from a 2016 approval, combined with an application filed before the moratorium, allowed a substantial increase without a new public hearing. Developers holding older industrial or mixed-use approvals in Florida may look closely at what their existing site plans permit.

For contractors, the conditions set the design brief: deep setbacks, acoustic control at the property line, continuous monitoring, limited water use and closed-loop cooling. Mechanical, electrical, acoustic and fire protection trades would carry much of that scope if the buildings proceed. The pending WPB Logistics application and the PBA appeal mean the final size of the campus is still uncertain.

Data center siting is contested across WCG's markets. In St. Petersburg, the city has confirmed data centers are not allowed under current code, as covered in St. Petersburg Confirms Data Centers Are Prohibited Under City Code, and noise is a central issue nationally, as discussed in Data Center Noise: Researcher Says 4.5-Foot Walls Needed to Block Low Hum.

What to Watch

• A decision on the WPB Logistics application and its possible 1.2 million square feet.
• Any court challenge to the October 7 approval.
• The PBA Holdings appeal of the July denial.
• The consultant contract and the county's permanent data center rules.

Bottom Line

Palm Beach County's commission said no to a larger Project Tango in July, but staff have since approved nearly 700,000 square feet of data center space on part of the site under an earlier application. With a second owner's request pending and an appeal unresolved, the size of this South Florida data center campus is still moving.

Related Coverage

• St. Petersburg Confirms Data Centers Are Prohibited Under City Code
• Data Center Noise: Researcher Says 4.5-Foot Walls Needed to Block Low Hum
• 100 Local Moratoriums and $64 Billion Blocked: The Data Center Opposition That's Now a Construction Industry Problem

Image credit: PBA Holdings July 2 presentation, via Stet News. Image from the source article.

Sources

• Stet News, "Project Tango grows: County staff grants administrative approval to larger data center": https://stetnews.org/2026/10/20/project-tango-grows-county-staff-grants-administrative-approval-to-larger-data-center/
• WPTV, via WFLX, "Palm Beach County said no to Project Tango expansion, but data center space still triples": https://www.wflx.com/2026/10/21/palm-beach-county-said-no-project-tango-expansion-data-center-space-still-triples/