Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has filed condemnation legislation seeking eminent domain over a property slated for an AI data center adjacent to the Nashville Zoo — a move that could halt the project Brad Paisley has spent the past month publicly opposing.
The dispute centers on a proposal by DC BLOX to build a combined 50-megawatt data center complex beside the zoo. According to the Nashville Scene, the company filed a building permit to construct a one-story, 10-megawatt, 69,220-square-foot facility, along with a separate 40-megawatt building. The Nashville Zoo has characterized the project’s energy consumption as equivalent to that of 30,000 to 50,000 single-family homes, and warned that stormwater from the development would drain directly into the zoo’s existing stormwater infrastructure. The zoo launched a Change.org petition that, as of June 30, had collected 534,000 signatures.
Mayor Acts as Community Pressure Mounts
On June 29, Mayor O’Connell announced via social media that the city is pursuing eminent domain over the site, which is currently owned by MarketStreet Enterprises. “We’re filing this condemnation legislation because Metro has a legitimate need for this property,” O’Connell wrote, adding that he has “carefully followed the concerns from the community and the Zoo.” Speaking with the Nashville Scene, he cited the closure of the Metro Southeast campus and growing operational needs at the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure and the fire department as reasons the city requires the land. Eminent domain would allow the government to acquire the property for public use, though compensation to the current owner would likely be required.
DC BLOX has pushed back on the opposition. Company representative Doug Sloan noted, as quoted by WKRN, that the zoo sits “in the middle of an industrial park adjacent to the third largest railyard in the nation.” In a separate statement to ABC News 4, DC BLOX said it is “proceeding in our efforts to meet with city officials, zoo leaders, and community members” and maintained that “no noise will be generated above existing ambient sound levels on the site.”
Paisley, Fellow Artists Add Their Voices
Brad Paisley has been among the most visible advocates against the project. On June 6, he called the proposal a “nightmare scenario” and urged followers to sign the petition, saying, “Let’s stop it. They don’t have to do this here. Build it somewhere else.” On June 26, he returned with a follow-up video calling on elected leaders to find a solution. Watch his most recent appeal below.
Several prominent artists responded to Paisley’s June 6 post. Sheryl Crow wrote, “Thank you, Brad for raising your voice. I am signing the petition and ask others to do the same.” ERNEST shared the video on Instagram. Christian artist Brandon Lake commented, “SIGNED! Heart breaking.” Nashville-based artist Jack White offered a more succinct endorsement: “what brad said.”
A letter addressed to DC BLOX outlining the broader environmental concerns associated with the project has also circulated on social media.
Nashville already hosts 12 data centers, with another proposed on the campus of Fisk University. Tennessee has approximately 60 data centers statewide, according to Local 3 News. The Nashville Zoo is asking concerned residents to attend the Metro Council Public Hearing at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 7, to speak in support of council member Rollin Horton’s legislation BL2026-1391. The story continues to develop ahead of that meeting.
