QTS Bessemer (Project Marvel)

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. 2026

   Proposed
   Bessemer City Council approved rezoning of 914 additional acres in April 2026, expanding total site to ~1,607 acres; 18-building count unchanged, additional land used for wider buffers and layout flexibility Source: ABC 3340
2. 2026

   Proposed
   QTS Data Centers (Blackstone) publicly confirmed as operator behind Project Marvel, July 1-2, 2026; project described as in active planning stage Source: WBRC Fox6
3. 2025

   Proposed
   Project Marvel first surfaced March 2025; unnamed developer (via Logistics Land Investment LLC, an affiliate of Atlanta-based TPA Group) sought rezoning of ~700 acres in Bessemer for hyperscale data center Source: Data Center Dynamics
4. 2025

   Proposed
   Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 to approve rezoning ~700 acres from agricultural (A-1) to light industrial (I-1) on November 18, 2025; developer identity still not publicly disclosed Source: WBRC Fox6

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. QTS Bessemer (Project Marvel) in Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. Dismissed June 22, 2026 by joint stipulation.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

Dismissed June 22, 2026 by joint stipulation. Project Marvel, a $14.5 billion, 4 million plus sq ft, 18-building data center campus. Strong and ongoing opposition. Public Facebook group 'Bessemer Data Center - We Say No!' grew to 720+ members. NAACP cited environmental justice concerns for majority-minority Bessemer community. Black Warrior Riverkeeper (BWR) and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) opposed construction over fossil fuel and water impacts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raised concerns. Rezoning lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court (temporarily enjoined; later dismissed). Bessemer City Council approved initial rezoning 5-2 in November 2025 despite crowd opposition (Councilman King and Councilwoman Thigpen dissented). 914-acre expansion rezoning approved April 2026. Some elected officials operated under NDAs with the developer prior to QTS confirmation. Homeowners filed additional lawsuits against the project.

Source: Community Sentinel

Power and water

Alabama Power confirmed 1,200 MW power availability for the campus. QTS committed project-related energy costs will not be passed on to local utility ratepayers. Opponents (NAACP, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, SELC) raised concerns that the facility will rely on fossil fuels. Bibb County residents identified as potentially facing higher power bills due to grid strain.

QTS committed to a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume water for cooling once operational. Opposition groups including Black Warrior Riverkeeper raised concerns about water impacts during construction and operation, citing proximity to a Black Warrior River tributary. Tuscaloosa County flagged for potential irreversible water impacts.

Notes on the record

Codename: Project Marvel. 18-building hyperscale campus on Red Ridge near I-459 and I-20/59 interchange in Bessemer (Jefferson County). Announced capacity: up to 1,200 MW at full build-out, reported as a planned ceiling, roughly 9% of Alabama Power's current generating capacity; recorded as capacityMw.planned = 1200 (an announced 'up to' full-build-out ceiling, consistent with how the dataset records other announced full-build-out figures). Investment: reported at $14 to 14.5B across sources (Logistics Land Investment anticipated 'close to $14.4B'; WBRC reported $14.5B at November 2025 rezoning; DCD reported ~$14B); no single firm company-confirmed figure exists, treated as a projected cost range and excluded from investmentUsd. Land: ~1,607.42 acres total after two rezoning rounds (initial ~700 acres November 2025 + 914-acre expansion April 2026). QTS affiliate purchased land from TPA Group affiliate for $431.73M. Chapter 9B statutory eligibility would have provided a 30-year abatement estimated at $500M+; QTS committed not to seek local property tax incentives (per WBRC July 2026), subsidy excluded as eligibility does not equal award and QTS renounced pursuit. Full buildout timeline: 7+ years. Birmingham Business Alliance estimated ~$4B net benefit over 30 years; Bessemer City Schools projected ~$25M/year. AI framing not officially confirmed by QTS or the city as of July 2026, size and scale (hyperscale, cloud/AI demand framing in QTS statement) support 'likely' classification. Coordinates are approximate for the Red Ridge parcel area. Jobs: ~1,000 construction and ~330 permanent are projected figures for the proposed (not-yet-built) campus (WBRC, Nov 2025), recorded as projections in notes, not structured jobs fields, per data-rigor policy. QTS Data Centers is owned by Blackstone (2021 take-private). STATUS JUDGEMENT SURFACED, NOT APPLIED: Bessemer approved land-use rezonings for this campus in November 2025 and again (914 acres) in April 2026, which under the wave's rule that a rezoning approval means permitted could argue for permitted rather than proposed. I did not change it, because the record's own cited source dated 2026-07-02 postdates both rezonings and still describes the campus as proposed, and no building permit or site-preparation start was found in any source fetched this run. A maintainer should decide whether a rezoning alone promotes this record.

Our reporting on this site

• Bessemer's Project Marvel Lawsuit · Dismissed

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Patmos Fairfield Colocation Data Center · Fairfield · Patmos5 mi · Proposed · Contested
• Nebius Birmingham AI Factory (BHM01) · Birmingham · Nebius Group9 mi · Under construction · 300 MW · In litigation
• DC BLOX Birmingham Data Center Campus · Birmingham · DC BLOX10 mi · Operating · 60 MW
• Digi Power X Columbiana AI Data Center · Columbiana · Digi Power X27 mi · Under construction · 40 MW · Contested

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