Private credit firm Lakeland Equity Group has submitted development plans for a USD 1.6 billion data center campus in Cleveland, Ohio, proposing a large-scale facility on a 35-acre site that could reshape the city's standing in a state where data center investment has been surging.

Project Details and Site Location

The proposed campus would be located at 3560 E 55th St in Cleveland, a site currently owned by trucking company Morabito Enterprises. According to local outlet NEOtrans, the development plans call for three two-story buildings totaling approximately 300,000 square feet, or roughly 27,870 square meters.

The campus is designed to deliver 150 megawatts of power capacity, placing it among the more substantial data center investments proposed in northeastern Ohio in recent years. Lakeland Equity Group told News 5 Cleveland that the planned facility would utilize closed-loop cooling technology and would generate no smoke or fumes.

The company also stated that the project would create no truck traffic associated with its operations, a detail that may be significant given the site's urban location and the surrounding community's concerns about industrial development. The firm said it intends to work closely with local stakeholders throughout the development process.

A Moratorium Could Complicate the Timeline

Despite the scale and ambition of the proposal, the project faces a potential regulatory obstacle before construction can begin. A Cleveland City Council member introduced a proposal in April for a one-year moratorium on new data center developments in the city.

The proposed moratorium has not yet been reviewed by local authorities, meaning its fate remains uncertain. Should the council move forward with the measure, it could delay the Lakeland project and others like it while the city evaluates how data centers fit into its broader development priorities.

The moratorium proposal reflects a broader national conversation about the rapid proliferation of data centers in urban and suburban areas, with municipalities weighing the economic benefits of large capital investments against concerns about land use, energy consumption, and community impact.

About the Developer

Lakeland Equity Group describes itself as a private credit firm focused on projects that require funding to cover equity shortfalls. The company says its typical engagements involve funding gaps ranging between USD 1 million and USD 10 million.

That profile stands in notable contrast to the USD 1.6 billion scale of the Cleveland proposal, and limited public information is available about the firm more broadly. The disparity between the firm's stated focus and the magnitude of the project it is proposing has not been publicly explained by the company.

Cleveland's Growing Data Center Footprint

Cleveland sits on the southern shore of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio and has been building a presence in the data center sector. The city's geography, access to power infrastructure, and available industrial land have made it an increasingly attractive location for technology investment, even as the majority of Ohio's data center activity has historically been concentrated in and around Columbus.

Ohio as a whole has emerged as one of the more active data center markets in the United States, with 231 data centers currently tracked across the state. The Columbus metro area has attracted investments from major technology companies, and development activity has been spreading to other parts of the state.

Projects proposed or under development elsewhere in Ohio include a campus planned by Aligned in Conesville, a Meta facility in Bowling Green near Toledo, and multiple Amazon and Microsoft land acquisitions in the Columbus suburbs of New Albany, Pataskala, and Hebron. Google has also been active in the state, with construction progressing on a facility in Lockbourne.

Infrastructure and Operational Commitments

The closed-loop cooling system described by Lakeland is a technology approach designed to recirculate water internally rather than drawing continuously from external sources, which can reduce the facility's impact on local water supplies.

The company's assurances about the absence of smoke, fumes, and truck traffic appear aimed at addressing the kinds of community concerns that have accompanied data center proposals in other cities, where residents have raised objections about noise, emissions, and increased heavy vehicle traffic on local roads.

Whether those commitments will be sufficient to satisfy Cleveland City Council members who have shown interest in a development pause remains to be seen. The moratorium proposal has not advanced through the review process, and the council has not yet taken a formal position on the Lakeland project specifically.

The filing of the development plans marks an early stage in what is likely to be an extended permitting and community engagement process, particularly given the political environment around data center development in the city.

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