O’Connell administration reportedly seeks eminent domain to stop Nashville Zoo-adjacent data center
Nashville TN – Axios reports Mayor Freddie O’Connell wants condemnation power against a Zoo-adjacent DC Blox site, as a data-center moratorium heads to a July 7 hearing.
Metro Nashville’s data-center fight is reportedly moving beyond zoning and permit pauses. Axios reports Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration intends to file eminent-domain (condemnation) legislation today aimed at the property next to the Nashville Zoo where DC Blox plans to build.
If Metro Council approves the approach, the next question for residents is whether this becomes a land-acquisition showdown—despite an already-scheduled, countywide moratorium process for large data centers.
What Axios says Metro is preparing today
Axios reports the O’Connell administration intends to file condemnation legislation that would allow Metro to take ownership of the property near the Zoo where a data center is planned.
Axios also reports:
- The property is owned by MarketStreet Enterprises, with a contract to sell the land to DC Blox for $23 million, with a sale closing set for early July.
- DC Blox has already begun applying for permits for a data center described as about 69,000 square feet.
- DC Blox says the project can coexist with the Zoo, while the Zoo has raised concerns—especially around sound and animal impacts.
- DC Blox’s attorney argues Metro has not identified a lawful public use that would justify taking the property under Tennessee law.
Axios notes Metro Council would need to sign off, and the eminent-domain request could come in as late-filed legislation for consideration on July 7.
How this compares with the moratorium already in motion
Metro is not starting from scratch. Mayor O’Connell issued Executive Order 59, directing Metro to pursue available tools to manage large-scale data center impacts while a regulatory framework is developed. The order also lays out an important constraint: state law allows moratoria only via an ordinance that is reviewed by the local planning commission and approved by the local legislative body.
The specific ordinance now on deck is BL2026-1448, listed on Legistar for a public hearing on July 7, 2026. The bill would impose a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing, approval, and issuance of zoning, building, or grading permits for data center developments within Nashville & Davidson County.
According to the ordinance text, the permit moratorium would run until November 1, 2026, or until the effective date of two other bills—BL2026-1391 and BL2026-1392—whichever comes first. The text also identifies which departments would administer the moratorium, including the Department of Codes Administration and the Water Services Department.
In other words: the moratorium route is about pausing permitting while zoning and definition changes move through the required review process. An eminent-domain plan would be a different track—one aimed at acquiring the specific Zoo-adjacent site.
Why the Zoo fight has escalated into a political fight
The Zoo’s opposition has been highly organized. NewsChannel 5 reports the Zoo launched a petition opposing the proposed DC Blox data center at 648 Grassmere Park, adjacent to Zoo property, with a reported size of 69,220 square feet.
At the same time, WPLN reports hundreds of residents—including young people—showed up to speak during the city’s first public hearing on proposed data center regulations. WPLN includes comments from a 10-year-old resident who told the Metro Planning Commission, “We don’t need more technology or air, water, and noise pollution. We need peace, trees, and each other.”
What residents should watch next
July 7, 2026 is a key date on the policy calendar for residents following the data-center fight. BL2026-1448 is scheduled for a public hearing, and Axios says eminent-domain legislation could also be brought forward around that same window.
After that, the moratorium clock matters: the ordinance text sets an endpoint of Nov. 1, 2026 or an earlier trigger tied to BL2026-1391/BL2026-1392.
If Metro Council advances eminent domain, residents will likely see a faster shift from “can this project get permits?” to “what happens to the site’s ownership and what legal basis Metro will defend.” Either way, residents can track Metro Council agendas and the evolving set of data-center bills to see whether the city is tightening rules, pausing approvals, or escalating to land acquisition.
Sources
- Axios Nashville — Scoop on reported eminent-domain plan (June 29, 2026)
- Metro Clerk — Executive Order 59 (Protecting Nashville from the Impacts of Large-Scale Data Centers)
- Nashville Legistar — BL2026-1448 (Temporary data-center moratorium; public hearing on July 7, 2026)
- WPLN News — ‘We need peace, trees and each other’ (June 12, 2026 report on June 11 hearing)
- NewsChannel 5 (WTVF) — Nashville Zoo petition opposing proposed DC Blox data center next to Zoo
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