Landover Data Center Plan Faces Opposition After Activist’s Campaign
The nearly 90-acre Landover Mall property has been largely vacant since the mall closed in 2002. In 2024, the mall’s developer received county planning approval for a data center campus on the site. McCollum, who lives less than a mile away, opposed the project, warning that pollution from diesel generators and water use could affect nearby residents.
McCollum’s campaign began with a social media video raising concerns about asthma and bronchitis in the area. She said the Party for Socialism and Liberation had asked her to create the video. The campaign gathered more than 25,000 signatures, and the project was described as blocked, leaving the former mall site vacant.
The proposal’s supporters point to its potential economic value. The developer projected $53.5 million in annual local tax revenue, while the county was described as facing a $147 million deficit. At a September county council meeting, member Wanika Fisher said the county needed to consider development and have a serious discussion about data centers, though she did not say they were necessarily the answer. McCollum attended that meeting to seek a fund for roof repairs, including repairs needed at her grandfather’s home.
Landover Residents’ Data Center Concerns Put Health First
A long-vacant property is not a blank check for development. Taylor Frazier McCollum organized opposition to a proposed data center campus at the former Landover Mall in Prince George’s County, raising concerns about diesel pollution and water use near the homes of local residents.
The mall closed in 2002, and the developer received county planning approval for the project in 2024. McCollum lives less than a mile away and used a social media video to highlight concerns about asthma and bronchitis in the area. Her campaign gathered more than 25,000 signatures, and the project was described as blocked.
The developer projected $53.5 million in yearly local tax revenue, while the county faces a reported $147 million deficit. But those figures do not erase residents’ concerns about the effects of the project where they live. At a September council meeting, McCollum sought a fund for roof repairs, and council member Wanika Fisher said the county needed to discuss development without presenting data centers as the only answer. Economic pressure deserves a hearing; so does the health and well-being of nearby residents.
Blocking Landover Data Center Leaves a Vacant Site and Lost Revenue
Prince George’s County may be left with an empty former mall site after a campaign against a proposed $5 billion data center. The Landover Mall closed in 2002, and the nearly 90-acre property has remained largely vacant. The developer won county planning approval for a campus in 2024, but McCollum’s opposition campaign gathered more than 25,000 signatures and the project was described as blocked.
The developer projected $53.5 million in annual local tax revenue. That potential matters for a county reported to face a $147 million deficit, especially when the alternative is a property that has stood vacant for more than two decades. At a September council meeting, member Wanika Fisher said the county needed to confront its economic future and have a serious discussion about development.
McCollum raised concerns about diesel pollution and water use near nearby residents, including through a social media video about asthma and bronchitis. Those concerns merit consideration, but rejecting a major development also carries a cost: the projected revenue will not come from this project, and the former mall site remains unused. The county’s need for resources cannot be separated from choices about whether to build.
Reported by Townhall, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, The Blaze, Reason.
