Denver, Colorado-based CoreSite has applied to modify an existing environmental permit to allow a second data center building at its Orlando campus near John Young Parkway and State Road 528, adding space and capacity amid growing controversy around the state and country over data center construction.
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The company, an American Tower subsidiary, has been in business since 2001 and the Orlando campus has been CoreSite branded since 2022. It was originally developed by Datasite, operating since 1984.
According to an Environmental Resource Permit modification application submitted in May to the South Florida Water Management District, the project would add a new data center building and related infrastructure within the existing CoreSite property at 9701 S. John Young Parkway, near the Beachline Expressway interchange. According to the application, the work would not alter the site’s stormwater pond and the project would be built in the existing parking lot.
Site plans prepared by the local office of Parsippany, New Jersey-headquartered Langan Engineering and Environmental Services show the proposed building would add approximately 76,280 square feet in a two-story structure adjacent to the existing facility, which contains more than 129,000 square feet of data center space and serves enterprise and cloud customers.
Duke Energy sees rising data center demand
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy Florida, which serves this site, said it is “fielding a lot of data center requests” across its Florida service territory as utilities nationwide grapple with growing electricity demand tied to AI and digital infrastructure.
In a prepared statement, Marc Hoenstine, Duke Energy Florida managing director of economic development, said the utility has developed a “large load process” designed to protect existing customers from costs associated with major new projects. Hoenstine said large-load customers are required to enter agreements containing provisions such as minimum bill obligations, customer-funded interconnection investments and early termination fees.
Hoenstine also said Duke currently does not serve any “large AI data centers” in Florida. He did not specify how many data center requests Duke Energy Florida is currently evaluating, where those projects are being proposed, how large they may be, or whether Orange County has emerged as a particular hotspot for demand.
Data center sites drawing attention around the country are often far larger than the Orange County CoreSite project, often drawing 100 MW and ranging into the millions of square feet.
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Data center growth a political issue in Florida
Meanwhile, data center growth has become an increasingly visible political issue in Florida as local governments evaluate proposals that can require significant electrical infrastructure and large volumes of water for cooling.
On May 23, 2026, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ gubernatorial campaign’s X account reposted a social-media post critical of data center development and wrote, “No new data centers in Florida. Ever.” The post did not reference the CoreSite proposal or any specific Orange County project.
These comments were atop a reposted a video from a May 20 congressional hearing in which U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioned EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer about alleged water-quality impacts tied to a Meta data center in Morgan County, Georgia. During the exchange, Ocasio-Cortez raised concerns about data center construction, drinking water quality and the federal government’s push to accelerate data center development.
Orange County mayoral candidate Tiffany Moore Russell, who currently serves as Orange County clerk of courts, told GrowthSpotter she views the issue as more nuanced, citing both the operational need for data centers and concerns about infrastructure demands. Moore Russell said the clerk’s office relies on backup data-center capacity to protect court records and maintain operations during emergencies, and noted that Florida has become “the fourth largest hub in the U.S.” for data centers as development shifts toward the Southeast.
“I have to ultimately see what the data tells me of the overall impact and benefit for the county,” Moore Russell said. “Does the good outweigh the bad and if the bad outweighs the good do we really need that many in Orange County?”
Neither CoreSite, Langan Engineering, nor Orange County government representatives involved with such applications responded to requests for comment by publication time.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at [email protected] or (407) 420-5246. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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