Something is brewing at the Starbucks headquarters in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood — and it’s not coffee.
A “small-scale” data center is proposed for the iconic building’s ground floor at 2401 Utah Avenue South, which used to house an Amazon Fresh pickup location until January 2024, according to permit records. The story was first reported by The Daily Journal of Commerce.
But wait, didn’t the Seattle City Council just ban new data centers within city limits? Not exactly.
The Seattle City Council unanimously voted to enact a one-year moratorium on new large data centers within city limits that use more than 20 megavolt-amperes (roughly equivalent to 20 megawatts). This 45,600 square-foot data center, apparently, would be under the limit, according to permit records.
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