Eminent Domain

Nashville Considers Using Eminent Domain To Stop a Planned Data Center From Irritating Zoo Animals

The Nashville Zoo says the vibrations from next door's planned data center might negatively affect hearing-sensitive animals.

Christian Britschgi | 7.24.2026 4:05 PM

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Data centers, already unloved by the general public, have a new enemy: cuddly leopard cubs. 

In Nashville, plans by Atlanta-based company DC BLOX to build a data center have provoked heated opposition from the Nashville Zoo, next to which the planned facility would go. 

The zoo argues that the constant hums and vibrations from the data center would have a negative impact on animals with sensitive hearing; chief among them the clouded leopards bred in the zoo. 

"Clouded Leopards are notoriously sensitive to any mechanical noise, which causes excessive stress and elimination of successful breeding, harming the overall endangered population," wrote the zoo's president, Rick Schwartz, in a June op-ed for the Tennessean. 

It's an argument that's resonated with local officials. 

It was reported on Monday that DC BLOX closed on its purchase of the zoo-adjacent site for $23 million.

On Tuesday, the Nashville-Davidson Metro Council passed a temporary moratorium on new data centers and new zoning restrictions on these facilities. Councilmembers also advanced legislation pushed by Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell that would........

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