KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
—
Liberty officials voted Monday to approve $1.4 billion in bonds and $202.7 million in tax abatements over 25 years for a new Metrobloks data center.
The project, which had its first phase approved in December, will be located near the intersection of Old Hughes Road and Hughes Road.
Metrobloks plans to build three buildings totaling approximately 568,800 square feet.
"Missouri continues to compete and win on a global stage, and Metroblok's $1.4 billion investment in Clay County is a powerful example of that momentum," Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said Tuesday after the council approved the project. "This project brings 30 high-quality jobs while strengthening our state's position as a leader in next-generation infrastructure."
The Missouri Department of Economic Development says the project features a "very low water use design and low impact operations, with limited demands on schools, emergency services and municipal resources."
Brandon Smith, Liberty's economic development director, said the city will not be financially responsible for the bonds. City leaders said Metrobloks buys the bonds itself and is responsible for paying the bondholders.
"There are other cities that back the bonds," Smith said. "We will not back the bonds."
In exchange for the tax abatements, the city says Metrobloks will make about $49 million in payments distributed among government entities that normally rely on property taxes, including schools, libraries, and others.
"Metrobloks is proud to expand in Liberty, where we found the ideal combination of infrastructure, talent and community partnership to support our next phase of growth," Metrobloks CEO Ernest Popescu said in Tuesday's release. "This investment reflects our confidence in the Liberty area as a rising digital economy and innovation hub, and we look forward to building a facility here in the Kansas City region that delivers long-term value for both our customers and the community."
"If this development were not to go to that site, we would see a tax over that 25 years of $33,728 divided amongst all taxing entities," Smith said.
Maggie Duffin, who was born and raised in Liberty, spoke to the City Council to share her concerns about the proposed data center.
"Yeah, it sounds all nice and fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, it just doesn't seem like a good cost-benefit analysis for our citizens of Liberty" Duffin said. "There’s a neighborhood just across the street from there."
Jason Klindt from Evergy addressed how the campus will impact the local power grid.
"What this project will do is put a lot more kilowatt hours being used, which will drive down the fixed costs for everyone," Klindt said. "So as long as this project isn't causing me to build generation, it is going to be a net positive for customers in our service territory. I'm not saying there won't ever be another rate increase. What I am saying is that this project should put downward pressure on rates."
I previously spoke to Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson about concerns residents might have regarding a data center coming to Liberty.
"Well, we made sure that it wasn't a data center that was going to use power that we didn't have or use water we couldn't produce," the mayor said.
While the mayor declined to comment on the City Council's vote Monday night, he did offer a quote in Tuesday's press release.
"The City of Liberty is excited to partner with Metrobloks to bring the most significant digital economy project in Liberty's history," Canuteson said Tuesday. " We believe this is the first step in building a high tech foundation to our city's economy going forward."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
—
