Data center project · Polk County, Florida
Fort Meade campus
Approved · Gigawatt-scale campus on a former phosphate mine; the only Florida hyperscale campus with local approval. Also known as: Project Stonebridge (some coverage), Florida Ecopark LLC (per FOX 13).
- Status
- Approved · as of April 14, 2026
- Approved by
- Fort Meade City Commission
20-year development agreement, April 14, 2026, vote unanimous
FOX 13 and WUSF both report a unanimous vote but give no count; the commission has five seats, so unanimous with everyone present would be 5-0. Neither story names individual commissioners. The project still needs a new Southwest Florida Water Management District water-use permit. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay, April 14, 2026; WUSF, April 15, 2026) - Location
- Fort Meade, former phosphate mine west of U.S. 98 · Polk County
- Status note
- City commissioners unanimously approved a 20-year development agreement. Blocked until the Southwest Florida Water Management District board approves a new water-use permit.
- Power
- 1,200 MW
About 1.2 GW (WUSF); another WUSF report says more than 1 GW at full build. - Floor area
- 4,400,000 sq ft
- Land
- 1,300 acres
- Investment
- $2.6 billion; 500 jobs by 2031 (developer)
- Developer and team
- Stonebridge (Bethesda, Md.); Fort Meade LLC (shares Stonebridge’s address)
- End user
- Not disclosed.
- Utility
- Duke Energy Florida (expected)
- Water
- Developer cut its estimate from 140,000–150,000 to 50,000 gallons a day with closed-loop cooling; the city would reserve 50,000 gallons a day of potable water. SWFWMD says the city's existing permit cannot be used.
- Incentives
- Tax break over 10 years: $140 million per FOX 13 (attributed to Polk County) or $150 million per Propmodo (attributed to the city); sources conflict. Developer pledged $10 million, partly for water upgrades.
- Evidence
- News reports; primary records not yet obtained
- Size class
- 50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Updates, newest first
- June 30, 2026 Fort Meade LLC, which shares an address with Stonebridge, gives $10,000 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC. (Florida Division of Elections, Oct. 16, 2026; Tampa Bay Times (syndicated by Tribune Content Agency), Aug. 1, 2026)
- April 17, 2026 FloridaCommerce Secretary J. Alex Kelly writes that the plan is fundamentally flawed and its water estimate too low. (WUSF, April 20, 2026; FOX 13 Tampa Bay, April 16, 2026)
- April 14, 2026 City commissioners unanimously approve a 20-year development agreement; SWFWMD tells the city a new water permit is needed. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay, April 14, 2026; WUSF, April 15, 2026)
- 2025 Rezoning and tax break approved. (WUSF via WLRN, April 8, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
- No final SWFWMD board action found as of Oct. 17, 2026.
- The legal developer entity is unconfirmed: Fort Meade LLC, Florida Ecopark LLC and Bohler Places LLC are each named in different sources.
Political money tied to this project
- Duke Energy Florida$500,000 to Byron Donalds ($500,000 on June 26, 2025 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC)) · Expected utility for the Fort Meade campus; its SB 484 large-load tariff is before the PSC. (Florida Division of Elections, Oct. 16, 2026)
- Fort Meade LLC$10,000 to Byron Donalds ($10,000 on June 30, 2026 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC)) · Shares a Bethesda, Md., address with Stonebridge, developer of the Fort Meade campus (Tampa Bay Times). (Florida Division of Elections, Oct. 16, 2026)
FL Division of Elections. Details and every other recipient in the Data Center File. The records do not show that any contribution influenced a decision.
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