A project on Imperial River Road in Bonita Springs is causing concern and confusion for residents and others in the city. Some say that the site will be a data center, since that label is used in a 2025 zoning change application, while city officials stress that's not the case.

The zoning change was approved shortly after the request was made last year. Site work began recently on the property at the corner of Imperial and Bonita Beach Road, heightening the concern for some.

If it was a true data center, it would be the fourth situated in Lee County. Datacenters.com says there currently are three such centers — in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and North Fort Myers — in Lee County.

The concern comes with the label of "data center." While the zoning change does have the words "data center" all through it, there are explanations contained within the change application that point toward a less intensive type of facility and not a true data center.

And media reports have Bonita Springs Mayor Mike Gibson saying that the site is a data center in name only and is actually an internet relay station. According to project information, data being relayed is coming via fiber optic cable currently being placed on the sea bed between North and South America.

"You are correct, it is not an AI data center and really not a data center at all," Gibson told WGCU Saturday via email. "It’s an internet relay station. Because it’s a building with mainly computers in it the closest zoning term for it was 'data center'. "

For the project, "Telecofacilities Data Center Special Exception Location Map" is the label on a photo included in the Bonita Springs Community Development Department Zoning Division Staff Report from August, 2025.

WGCU produced illustration

The request for a special exception includes the terminology "data center" throughout the document:
"According to the narrative supplied by the Applicant, the data center will function as an office building in which employees will monitor computer servers to ensure that the equipment functions properly in order to support a fiber optic network between North America and South America."

However, the document also has these explanations:

"While the use activity group does not call out a data center specifically, it has been determined by Staff that the Group II designation is most appropriate."

and

"The Bonita Springs Land Development Code does not specifically address a “data center” and staff has determined that although the building will function as an office building, it is an essential service use; thereby, requiring the Special Exception application. The C-1 zoning category was created by Lee County prior to the advent of the internet. The changing conditions are the rapid advances in communication and technology that are not addressed by the Land Development Code."

More on data centers

• DeSoto County fast-tracked data center project, now commissioners may hit pause
• Developers push massive data center complex in DeSoto County amid backlash
• Okee-One data center in Okeechobee declared DOA by state. County officials scrap proposal allowing other energy hogs
• Opposition to data centers mounts; more could come to rural Okeechobee County

There have been numerous such data center projects around Florida and across the United States in the past year or so. Multiple objections have been made to them, with the data centers facing major challenges, notably staggering electricity and water demands. Larger facilities can use as much power as large cities and millions of gallons of water daily for cooling, with results such as local grid strain, rising utility bills, and pushback against new developments.

The company involved, Telcofacilities, is based in North Miami, and describes itself as "dedicated to revolutionizing how businesses grow and manage their data infrastructure. We focus on securing the resources necessary to implement our vision and meet the growing demand for data center solutions. By contracting top experts and forming strong partnerships, we deliver cutting-edge, customized services to meet evolving client needs."

Company literature also said about Telcofacilities: "We collaborate with leading infrastructure owners to provide access to critical facilities, including data centers, submarine cables, and extensive fiber optic networks."

The company did not respond to an inquiry from WGCU.

Gibson told WGCU in an email on Saturday that the building being planned is relatively small and resembles a small two-story office building.

"It has normal commercial electrical and water connections, nothing like what an actual data center would require," he said. "The news coverage did a disservice by showing pictures of large data centers and giving out stats about data centers instead of presenting the actual facts only. I believe most people that live in the area would be happy to know that this use will not increase traffic on an already congested road. There really aren’t any other commercial uses that could say the same."

Gibson said to imagine the traffic concerns if a Starbucks had wanted to go there.

"That parcel was previously approved to have a large hotel built. Both of those would have had a lot of traffic contributed to them and that’s the main concern we hear from residents in that area besides flooding issues," he said. " Others are asking why this needs to be built so close to the beach. The reason for that is the fiber optic cable is out in the Gulf of America and that will be brought on shore. There will be a small in ground concrete box where that cable will connect to the cables running along the road right of way to the new building."

Still, there remains some confusion among those living and working within sight of the location.

Rick Barton, owner of Affordable Import Furnishings, directly across Bonita Beach Road from the property, wasn't sure what was going to placed just outside his store's plate glass display windows.

"I'm very confused. I really don't know. I think the thing that upsets me the most is it seems to have been kind of done under the radar. I know the mayor and the city council of Bonita Springs have claimed, that they informed people when they did the zoning change to allow this," he said. "And that was back in September. But watching the news media and some of the reports of some of the residents around the area, I mean, right just down the street from it, they had no idea of it like us. So I think it's just sort of kind of been a little creepy, saying that they've been transparent when I don't really believe they have been."

Tonya Da Silva lives on Imperial River Road, just behind the property in question.

"I'm a little bit concerned," she said. "I'm concerned about property values." She's lived at that address since 2004.

Da Silva said she heard about the meeting last year but wasn't available to attend it. Instead, she said she talked with an official of the development company on the project.

"They said it wasn't a data center," she said. "They told me it was going to be like the one down in Naples across from the mall."

She said when the issue came up last year that was before all the turmoil over data centers got going.
"Nobody knew about the water and electricity," she said, referencing the vast amounts of both that data centers are supposed to consume.

Issues with flora and fauna at the building site apparently has been dealt with. According to the zoning change application: "The applicant has retained the services of an ecologist to evaluate the site. There were no heritage trees observed on the property. The ecologist did identify 3 gopher tortoise burrows located near the western property line. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission guidance for small sites supports off-site mitigation as the preferred long-term method to handle gopher tortoise in urban settings. The ecologist has begun the mitigation process with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the applicant has entered into a contract with Triple B Ranch LLC as the recipient site for the gopher tortoise mitigation."

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