Overview:
Residents in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood are pushing back against a large CoreSite data center already under construction.
A massive data center campus already under construction in Northeast Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood has become the center of a growing debate about environmental impact, neighborhood equity and the future of technology infrastructure in the city.
The facility, CoreSite DE3, is being built at 4900 Race St. and is expected to be operational later this year. It will be the first building in a planned three-facility campus that will have more than 590,000 square feet of data infrastructure and 18 megawatts of computing capacity, according to materials from CoreSite’s site.
The company operates two other data centers in the city and did not respond to Bucket List’s request for comment on the DE3 project. As construction continues, residents express concerns about water use, electricity demand and the neighborhood’s long history of industrial development.
“This neighborhood has been rebuilt many times since its founding, and now more than ever do we need a voice in its infrastructure,” said Ana Varela, a GES Coalition member and Elyria resident. “Our neighborhood only recently had the lead lines removed from our water source, so to see them take more water from us raises concern.”
The data center is being built in Globeville-Elyria-Swansea, a historically Latino community with decades of heavy industrial pollution. Local leaders believe that history influences how residents perceive new developments.
“Previous redlining in the area and a history of violence have made this neighborhood less privileged,” said Robin Reichhardt, GES-Coalition board member. “That being said, we have built up from where we were decades ago. Now the community is more united than ever.”
The project was first introduced in fall 2024. Reichhardt said he initially knew little about the environmental footprint of large data centers.
“I was not aware of the impact these data centers have,” Reichhardt said. “At first, I had a hunch about the environmental impact, but I put it aside due to the construction in an old concrete plant. But more news came out about how horrible these centers are for the planet and the communities they are placed in. Colorado does not have very much water to begin with.”
Data centers rely on large amounts of electricity and water to cool servers and maintain operations. State Rep. Brianna Titone said those demands have become a central concern for residents.
“The Elyria community is nervous because there isn’t a lot of water, especially this year, when we saw such a dry winter,” Titone said. “The rates are going to go up, making it more expensive to live in the area. That being said, the center is going to take away critical jobs as well, making it harder for people to sustain themselves.”
Concerns about the Elyria-Swansea project have helped spark a broader policy discussion at City Hall. Denver leaders are considering a temporary pause on new data center development while the city reviews potential regulations for future facilities.
The proposed moratorium would not affect projects that already have permits, including the CoreSite facility currently under construction. City officials say the pause would allow time to consider updated zoning rules, energy requirements and standards for cooling systems used by large computing facilities.
At the state level, lawmakers are also debating competing proposals that would either require new renewable energy projects to power data centers or offer tax incentives if facilities meet certain labor and environmental standards.
“There should be guidelines surrounding the cost of these data centers,” Titone said. “I would like to see a way to coexist with data centers while still ensuring rates don’t go up. We also need to make sure that there are human jobs involved in these data centers, rather than AI. That way, there is real, unfiltered growth.”
In Elyria-Swansea, the project has prompted organizing among residents and community groups. On Feb. 24, nearly 700 people gathered inside and outside the GeoTech Environmental Equipment building for a public meeting about the data center. Residents and advocates said the turnout reflected frustration about how the project was communicated to the neighborhood.
“The city lacked communication, having begun development without much community input,” Varela said. “But it’s here, so what are we going to do for the neighborhood?”
Varela said community organizing will remain central to how residents respond.
“This is a city-wide effort. Neighbors have to stand up in unconventional ways, now more than ever. What we do as a community benefits Denver as a whole,” Varela said. “There is power in numbers, and we have to be the numbers.”
For Reichhardt, the response shows how the neighborhood has learned to mobilize.
“Our work is not individual,” he said. “The work could not be done without the community and the coalition.”
Even as construction continues, residents say they plan to remain involved in discussions about how projects like the data center affect their neighborhood.
“The coalition is the community,” Varela said. “Without our neighbors, our voice would not be heard.”
