Armory Innovation District data center (Midtown St. Louis)
Also called: Armory data center
Developers plan a 120-megawatt data center in a former warehouse next to the Armory in Midtown St. Louis, part of a $3 billion project. The city approved it with conditions like using more renewable power. There is no tenant yet, and environmental groups appealed.
Where things stand: Board of Public Service approved the permit April 21, 2026; Board of Adjustment rejected appeals July 30, 2026 with added rules.
🕒 Latest update (July 30, 2026): Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to let it go forward with new rules, including no diesel generator testing on bad air days.
What we know
- 📍 Whereformer Famous-Barr/Macy's warehouse next to the historic Armory, Midtown, St. Louis, St. Louis city
- 🏢 CompanyContour, TeraWatt, THO Investments and Steadfast City (development team)
- 👤 Built forno tenant yet
- ⚡ Power it needs120 megawatts (about as much as 96,000 homes)
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromAmeren Missouri; permit requires 50% renewable energy within five years and on-site renewable power.
- ❄️ Coolingclosed-loop cooling with air-cooled chillers
- 💵 Cost$3 billion
- 💸 Tax breaksDevelopers said they will not ask for tax breaks; city estimates $423 million in tax revenue over 10 years.
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- Who will be the tenant? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many diesel backup generators will it have? 🙋 I'll find out
- How much water will it use per day? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- April 21, 2026Board of Public Service unanimously approved a conditional use permit.
- July 30, 2026Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to let it go forward with new rules, including no diesel generator testing on bad air days.
Local votes and rules
📜 Data center rules
Board of Aldermen passed Board Bill 49 unanimously on Sept. 11, 2026, and Mayor Cara Spencer signed it on Sept. 17. It sorts data centers by size, keeps them out of homes areas, sets distance rules, bans water-heavy cooling and requires more renewable power over time.
📌 Other
A plan to ban large data centers in St. Louis failed at the Board of Aldermen. Work on zoning rules went on instead.
✅ Approved
Board of Public Service unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the data center near the Armory. In July the Board of Adjustment let it go ahead with added rules, including 50% renewable power within 5 years, closed-loop cooling, and no diesel generator testing on bad air days.
📌 Other
Aldermen turned down a proposal to pause new data center applications while the city wrote its rules.
📌 Other
City leaders chose not to pause data centers. Instead Mayor Cara Spencer ordered staff to write data center rules within about five months, with public hearings required for every data center before a permit.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- Data center project near Armory gets final approval from city · St. Louis American · April 21, 2026
- St. Louis board allows data center near Armory to move forward with new rules · St. Louis Public Radio · July 30, 2026
- Explained: St. Louis-area data center regulations · St. Louis Public Radio · Aug 21, 2026
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