Project Tango · SignalData

Status: Approved · as of Oct. 7, 2026
Approved by: Palm Beach County Zoning Division (Development Review Officer) and Wendy N. Hernández
Development Review Officer modification DRO-2026-00966: 2.02 million sq ft within the existing master plan, including data center space (administrative; no public hearing), Oct. 7, 2026
The result letter says the Development Review Officer approved the application; it is signed by Wendy N. Hernández, Zoning Director. The letter does not say in so many words that she is the DRO. Contacts named in the letter: Jerome Ottey, Interim Deputy Zoning Director (561-233-5088), and project manager Nancy Frontany Bou, Senior Site Planner I. (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, Oct. 7, 2026)
Denied by: Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners
Expanded plan DOA/ZV-2025-01602 (3.59 million sq ft), denied without prejudice by Resolution R-2026-0860, July 15, 2026, vote 5-1
Roll call in R-2026-0860: Woodward (Vice Mayor), Weiss, Flores, Sachs and Powell aye; Marino nay; Mayor Baxter did not vote (the tracker records her recusal). The Vice Mayor declared the resolution adopted. The scanned resolution is hard to read where it names the commissioner who moved it; Gregg Weiss seconded. (Palm Beach County, July 15, 2026; WLRN, July 16, 2026; WFLX, July 17, 2026)
Location: Loxahatchee (unincorporated), 20125 Southern Blvd. · Palm Beach County
Status note: County commissioners denied the expanded 3.59 million sq ft plan 5-1 on July 15, 2026. On Oct. 7, county staff administratively approved a 2.02 million sq ft plan for the same site, within the master plan approved in January 2025: 698,000 sq ft of data center space plus 54,000 sq ft of accessory office, with no public hearing.
Power: Not reported
Not stated for the approved plan. The denied plan's draft water-usage table lists four phases of 150, 100, 100 and 100 MW (450 MW). The 600 MW figure in news coverage is not in any county record found; Inside Climate News attributes it to opponents.
Floor area: 698,000 sq ft
Data center space in the Oct. 7 approval (two buildings of 288,000 and one of 122,000), plus 54,000 sq ft of accessory office, per the July 15 staff report’s description of the plan. The earlier approval allowed 200,000 sq ft. The denied plan sought 1,032,000 sq ft of data center space.
Land: 202.67 acres
Investment: $34.5 billion at build-out (applicant claim, CBS12)
Developer and team: PBA Holdings, Inc.; WPB Logistics Owner, LLC (owns ~60 acres; rival plan)
End user: Not disclosed. Ernie Cox has said confidentiality agreements keep him from identifying it; the Business Development Board's code name keeps it confidential under state law.
Utility: Florida Power & Light (applicant claims a binding power service agreement)
Water: Palm Beach County Water Utilities capped service at 100,000 gallons a day for the whole site; closed-loop cooling; cooling water to an industrial treatment plant (Oct. 7 conditions). No SFWMD permit applications as of July 10, 2026.
Incentives: No local incentives offered (Business Development Board CEO Kelly Smallridge, Stet News). The state sales-tax exemption for data centers of 100 MW or more would apply if eligible.
Evidence: Primary public records
Size class: 50 MW or more (tracker scope)

Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.

Updates, newest first

Oct. 9, 2026 PBA Holdings sues the county to force the special-magistrate hearing, claiming Commissioner Maria Sachs prejudged the vote. (The Palm Beach Post (syndicated), Oct. 13, 2026)
Oct. 7, 2026 County staff administratively approve DRO-2026-00966: 2.02 million sq ft within the existing master plan, including 698,000 sq ft of data center space plus accessory office, with no public hearing. (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, Oct. 7, 2026)
Sept. 24, 2026 County adopts a one-year moratorium on data centers of 50 MW or more, 6-0; applications already deemed sufficient proceed. (CBS12 (WPEC), Sept. 24, 2026)
Aug. 6, 2026 PBA Holdings sues WPB Logistics and its attorneys. (Stet News, Aug. 16, 2026)
Aug. 5, 2026 PBA Holdings asks for a special magistrate under s. 70.51, Florida Statutes, proposing former Justice Alan Lawson. (Stet News, Aug. 16, 2026)
July 15, 2026 County commission denies the plan 5-1 after a 12-hour hearing (Marino voting no on denial; Baxter recused). (Palm Beach County, July 15, 2026; WLRN, July 16, 2026; WFLX, July 17, 2026)
July 14, 2026 Judge Darren Shull denies WPB Logistics' request to block the hearing. (WLRN (Stet News), July 14, 2026)
July 2, 2026 Zoning Commission recommends denial. (WLRN, July 2, 2026; Stet News, July 3, 2026)
June 5, 2026 WPB Logistics sues PBA Holdings (case 50-2026-CA-006330). (WLRN (Stet News), June 16, 2026)
April 27, 2026 Revised plan filed: 1.032 million sq ft data center, 2.35 million sq ft warehouse, 216,000 sq ft utility. WPB Logistics files a rival plan the same day. (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, July 15, 2026; Stet News, May 7, 2026)
April 7, 2026 Town of Loxahatchee Groves adopts a resolution opposing the project. (Town of Loxahatchee Groves, filed with Palm Beach County, April 7, 2026)
Feb. 25, 2026 About 400 people attend Commissioner Sara Baxter's town hall; she announces her opposition and the developer announces a scaled-back plan. (Stet News, March 2, 2026)
Dec. 10, 2025 County commission postpones the hearing, 7-0. (WLRN, Dec. 10, 2025)
Dec. 4, 2025 Zoning Commission recommends approval, 7-2. (DatacenterDynamics, Dec. 8, 2025; Florida Phoenix (commentary), Jan. 1, 2026)
Nov. 4, 2025 Application DOA/ZV-2025-01602 certified: 1.9 million sq ft of warehouse and 1.792 million sq ft of data center. (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, July 15, 2026)
Jan. 30, 2025 Commissioners approve a 64.46-acre expansion of the site (R-2025-0122, R-2025-0123). (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, July 15, 2026)
Feb. 2023 WPB Logistics buys about 60 acres of the site for $36 million. (Stet News, May 7, 2026)
April 28, 2016 County approves the first plan for the site, changing land use from rural residential to Economic Development Center. (Palm Beach County Zoning Division, July 15, 2026; Florida Trend, Oct. 26, 2016)

Conflicts and open questions

A WPB Logistics application (ABN/DRO-2026-01058) to replace 1.2 million sq ft of approved warehouse with four data center buildings and a water treatment plant is pending.
Whether the Oct. 7 approval can be appealed, and by whom, is an open question.
The approval letter numbers the application DRO-2026-00966; the July 15 staff report prints DRO-2025-00966.

Political money tied to this project

NextEra Energy Capital Holdings$1,000,000 to Byron Donalds ($500,000 on Dec. 19, 2025 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC); $500,000 on Feb. 19, 2026 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC)) · Parent of Florida Power & Light, the utility the Project Tango applicant says it has a power agreement with; FPL also land-banked 5,722 acres in Indiantown. (Florida Division of Elections, Oct. 16, 2026)
Phillips Infrastructure Corp.$250,000 to Byron Donalds ($250,000 on June 26, 2026 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC)) · Tennessee construction firm whose executives, with Palm Beach Aggregates', formed PBA Holdings, the Project Tango applicant (Tampa Bay Times). (Florida Division of Elections, Oct. 16, 2026)
Palm Beach Aggregates LLC$100,000 to Byron Donalds ($100,000 on June 30, 2026 to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC (PAC)) · Rock-mining company beside the Project Tango site; its president, Enrique Tomeu, is president of PBA Holdings. (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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