DC Blox Data Center, Nashville, Tennessee

DC Blox, based in Georgia, bought a 24-acre site at 648 Grassmere Park in south Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, for about $23 million, planning to build a data center costing more than $700 million next to the Nashville Zoo. Nashville's Metro Council voted 27-5 on August 4, 2026 to authorize city attorneys to begin eminent domain proceedings to take the property, after passing new zoning rules and a moratorium on data centers in July.

Under Tennessee's vested rights doctrine, a developer that filed for permits before local rules changed can claim the right to build anyway, and DC Blox filed before the new zoning law took effect. A petition against the project passed 540,000 signatures, and singer Brad Paisley and Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor, have come out against it. Nashville resident Adam Nicholson said: "The toll it takes on our grid and our water supply isn't sustainable. I think this is a step in the right direction to say this industry needs to be reined in."

Mayor Freddie O'Connell called DC Blox's account of meeting him and the zoo to discuss safeguards "wishful thinking," even "divorced from reality." Councilmember Ginny Welsch, one of five no votes on the eminent domain measure, called it "a gross misuse of the power of condemnation." Metro would likely have to pay more than the $23 million DC Blox paid; the county assessed the property at $37 million, and a judge could set the final price if the two sides disagree.

Pending zoning appeals against the project cannot be heard until the city's moratorium expires on December 1, 2026.