Grassroots Opposition Halts $5 Billion Data Center Project in Prince George’s County
LANDOVER, Md. — For more than two decades, the site of the former Landover Mall in Prince George’s County sat largely vacant, an overgrown tract of weeds stretching across nearly 90 acres. That changed in 2024 when local planners approved a $5 billion data center campus on the property, triggering an intense wave of community resistance that has effectively stalled the development. Leading the charge against the facility is Taylor Frazier McCollum, who lived less than a mile from the proposed site. When news of the approval reached the surrounding, predominantly Black community, she immediately mobilized against the developer’s plans. “I was like, ‘Oh, hell no,'” Frazier McCollum said, recalling her initial reaction. “Why would you want to bring water-polluting, diesel-generating data centers right down the street from where people live, work, play? It just didn’t make sense to me.”
Frazier McCollum organized an online petition that gathered more than 25,000 signatures, sparking well-attended public protests and prompting county officials to enact multiple local moratoriums on data center construction. The political pressure successfully blocked the $5 billion project, which developers had originally slated to break ground between 2026 and 2027.
A Growing Political Movement
Her campaign against the project quickly catapulted Frazier McCollum to public prominence. She joined a broad grassroots coalition of environmental activists, local socialists, residents frustrated by rising utility bills, and first-time organizers. In addition to speaking at local civic meetings, she offered formal testimony before Maryland legislators and endorsed candidates in regional races. Frazier McCollum’s activism unfolded alongside personal struggles. In 2024, after a wage cut at the waxing center where she worked left her unable to afford rent, she and her young daughter were evicted from their home, forcing them to move in with her grandfather. “It was difficult,” Frazier McCollum said of the eviction. “Because I created the ideal life paying for us to live in this apartment and have our own space … And then to have it taken away … It felt like something that wasn’t ever going to end.”
Using grant funding secured by supporters, Frazier McCollum has expanded her advocacy beyond Maryland, traveling to consult with community leaders resisting data center expansions in Atlanta, Memphis. And Zambia.
Economic Deficits and Community Debate
The temporary halt on data center developments comes as Prince George’s County faces mounting fiscal pressures. The local economy suffered recent setbacks with the closure of a nearby Six Flags amusement park and the NFL’s Washington Commanders announcing plans to relocate back to neighboring Washington, D.C. Combined with thousands of federal job losses, the shifts have left county leaders confronting a budget deficit. During a September council meeting where Frazier McCollum requested funding for residential roof repairs, Council member Wanika Fisher highlighted the government’s need for new tax revenue streams. “Our county has an economic future that we have to grapple with,” Fisher said. “I don’t see where the money is coming from. I think we have to have a real conversation. And I’m not saying that a data center is the answer. But I’m saying it’s worth the hard discussion.”
Despite the economic concerns raised by officials, Frazier McCollum is actively pushing for a permanent ban on the Landover development and similar projects. While focusing on her current community work, she noted that political office may be in her future. “I didn’t want to have to focus on housing and the campaign and doing everything else,” Frazier McCollum said. “Now isn’t maybe the moment for it, but I do have aspirations to run for something.”