Tech Giants Adopt Community Concessions to Advance Data Center Pipelines
Amazon Web Services announced it will stop using nondisclosure agreements with local governments during data center permitting and will distribute over $1 billion across host communities over five years. CEO Matt Garman outlined the commitments in an October 2 blog post, directing funds toward workforce training, energy affordability, and water solutions. Amazon currently has two 96-megawatt data center campuses under construction in Mesa, Arizona, on Elliot and Signal Butte roads.
Amazon paid $277 million in cash for 218 acres in the Laveen area of Phoenix in October 2024, spending more than $1.2 million per acre. A company spokesperson said there are currently no plans to develop a data center at that site. Amazon has not filed a Proposition 207 waiver claim with the city, though property owners have 36 months to do so after a zoning change. Adjacent landowners Scannell Properties and Dairy 51.8 Trust have filed claims related to Phoenix’s data center zoning ordinance passed last year.
Two Phoenix-area sites recently changed hands after owners secured Proposition 207 waivers from the city’s data center ordinance. An AI infrastructure company acquired a 113,414-square-foot warehouse site at McDowell Road and 27th Avenue from Hanson Capital Group for $22.75 million on September 2. Investment firm GI Partners paid $14.7 million for a 5.4-acre site south of downtown from LKY Development on September 17. Local zoning attorney Jason Morris said Amazon is likely evaluating its network needs but is unlikely to abandon appropriately zoned property with power access in a region where it needs facilities.
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