Project Swan data center, Lakeland, Florida

Project Swan, a proposed data center of up to 600,000 square feet at 923 Wilkinson Road in west Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, set off the one-year data center moratorium the Lakeland City Commission passed 4-3 on August 3, 2026. Kimley-Horn filed the concept plan on May 5, 2026 on behalf of developer Ryan Companies US, and the moratorium, which took effect immediately, stops the city from accepting or reviewing data center applications while it writes permanent rules.

The plan shows three data center buildings, large mechanical yards, stormwater ponds and an electrical substation on 60.5 acres near Old Tampa Highway and Wilkinson Road, the first hyperscale-style data center proposed within Lakeland's city limits. The application names no tenant or operator and gives no figures for water, electricity, traffic or noise; the roughly 3.8-acre substation area is the only hint of its power demand, said Brian Rewis, the city's community and economic development director.

The land is owned by Holmes Beach Family Tides LLC, controlled by Lutz investor Joel Schachter, and part of it lies in unincorporated Polk County and would have to be annexed. The site abuts the city's West Lakeland Wasteload Reduction Facility, with the McLane distribution center to the north and at least six homes across Wilkinson Road, including a beekeeping business.

Lakeland's code does not list data centers at all, and Rewis said, "To our reading of our own code, there is no comparable use to a data center." The city's review comments said the project would need annexation, rezoning and a Planned Unit Development; after receiving the city's 13-page response, the developer canceled its June 3 review meeting, but the city said it remained an active project under review.

More than 50 residents came to the June 1 City Commission meeting even though the project was not on the agenda, and 18 spoke against it, from Polk County Republican Party chairman Sam Romain to members of the grassroots group Defund Oligarchy. "The prospect of running a hyperscale data center in the midst of these concerns, as well as Florida being in the longest drought since 2001, doesn't just bother me, it scares me," Defund Oligarchy member Atheena said.

The moratorium vote split the commission: Mayor Sara Roberts McCarley and Commissioners Terry Coney, Chad McLeod and Guy LaLonde Jr. voted for it, while Commissioners Stephanie Madden, Mike Musick and Ashley Troutman voted against, saying they backed a pause but found the ordinance too broad. "Nothing wrong with pumping the brakes, guys," LaLonde said. Lakeland Electric's acting general manager Scott Bishop supported the pause, saying the power large data centers need would be unlike anything the city-owned utility has handled.

The moratorium applies inside the city and to projects outside it that seek service from Lakeland utilities, which matters because nearly 70 percent of Lakeland Electric's service area lies outside the city limits. It can last up to 12 months from August 2026, and commissioners may end it sooner once city staff finish rules on whether and where data centers may go; any revived Project Swan would then need further staff review, public hearings and a commission vote on annexation and zoning.