Huntsville, AL (North Huntsville)

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (5 resident reports, 2026-05-12 → 2026-07-22) · ZIP demographics: 69.2% Black, pop 32,705 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Madison County Status: Operating and expanding — Meta Huntsville Data Center, in the North Huntsville Industrial Park off Pulaski Pike. No new proposal, moratorium, rezoning fight, or lawsuit specific to 35810 was found in the public record.

This report is research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice.

0. Snapshot

35810 is the largest ZIP in this Alabama cluster by population (32,705) and the only one served by TVA rather than Alabama Power. The five resident reports run 2026-05-12 → 2026-07-22, overlapping the period when TVA publicly proposed a new rate class for data centers and when north Huntsville rezoning and utility-bill stories were in the local news.

• What's here: the Meta Huntsville Data Center, in the North Huntsville Industrial Park off Pulaski Pike. Reported at roughly 970,000 sq ft, expanding toward nearly 3.5 million sq ft, with Meta's Huntsville investment reported at more than $1.5 billion and 300+ operational jobs once complete. Meta's combined Alabama data center investment (Huntsville + Montgomery) is reported at more than $3 billion. (City of Huntsville; Data Center Dynamics; Data Center Map, accessed 2026-08-02)
• The market: Huntsville is listed at 11 facilities, ~3,200,000 sq ft, 462 MW — Meta (7 sites) and DC BLOX (2) are the top operators. North Alabama is one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the country, and the reason is cheap TVA power. (Baxtel; RocketCityNow, accessed 2026-08-02)
• The power story is the story here. Data center demand reached 18% of TVA's entire industrial load in 2025, up from about 1% roughly six years earlier, and TVA's president projects it will double again by 2030. TVA has proposed a new rate class for data centers to protect residential bills. (RocketCityNow; WVLT, accessed 2026-08-02)
• What is documented on the community-benefit side: road improvements, a traffic signal on Pulaski Pike, a $2.8 million sanitary sewer extension ($2.5M company-funded), and $8–10 million annually to schools once the second campus is complete. (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02)

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

Meta Huntsville Data Center

Which side of town. The North Huntsville Industrial Park sits off Pulaski Pike NW, in the northwestern quadrant of Huntsville. ZIP 35810 is North Huntsville — the historically Black, historically underinvested side of a city whose wealth is concentrated south and east around Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park, and the Bridge Street / Jones Valley corridors. The city's own release frames the project's benefits explicitly as benefits to North Huntsville, which confirms the siting is understood locally as being in that part of town.

Important honesty note on the ZIP boundary: the Meta campus's listed street address is reported by aggregators under multiple ZIPs (35806, and in one listing Toney AL 35773), while the industrial park it sits in is consistently described as North Huntsville off Pulaski Pike, and Pulaski Pike / SR-255 land listings in that corridor are 35810. This report does not assert the campus is inside 35810. It asserts what is sourced: the campus is in the North Huntsville Industrial Park off Pulaski Pike, adjacent to and serving the North Huntsville area, and the city describes the benefits as flowing to North Huntsville. Residents wanting the exact parcel and ZIP should use the Madison County parcel viewer or the City of Huntsville planning department (§8).

Other Huntsville facilities

• DC BLOX HSV-1, 333 Diamond Drive NW — a ~12,690 sq ft Tier III colocation facility opened in 2018, listed at 10–20 MW from Huntsville Utilities. Listings place it in 35806, near Redstone Arsenal and Cummings Research Park — i.e., not North Huntsville. (DC BLOX; Data Center Map, accessed 2026-08-02)
• DC BLOX also announced a hyperscale edge node for Huntsville in November 2024. (Made in Alabama; 256 Today, accessed 2026-08-02)

Measured distances from the Meta campus to the nearest homes, schools, and churches: Not found as of 2026-08-02.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

A NEW data center proposal, rezoning case, moratorium, or ordinance specific to North Huntsville or ZIP 35810 in 2026: NOT FOUND as of 2026-08-02. Multiple targeted searches (city council, planning commission, WHNT, WAFF, Axios Huntsville) returned no such item. Searches for "Madison County data center moratorium" return results for Madison County, Indiana, not Alabama — a common confusion worth flagging for anyone researching this.

If the five resident reports from 35810 describe a specific new facility, that project is: Resident-reported only — no public source found as of 2026-08-02. That is a legitimate finding. North Huntsville residents seeing new construction, surveying, land assembly, or utility work should call the City Clerk and the Planning Division (§8) and ask what applications are on file for the parcel.

Council meeting schedule: regular meetings 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m., 1st Floor Chambers, Municipal Building. Agendas are posted the Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. of the week of a regularly scheduled meeting. (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02)

3. Power

Huntsville is the one site in this cluster that is NOT Alabama Power. Alabama PSC Docket 33709 does not govern here.

• Huntsville Utilities buys power wholesale from TVA. So do Athens Utilities and other North Alabama distributors. When TVA's wholesale rate rises, the local utility has little choice but to pass some of it along. (RocketCityNow, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Data center load on TVA: 18% of TVA's entire industrial load in 2025 (about 1% roughly six years earlier); TVA President and CEO Don Moul projects it will double again by 2030. TVA put the figure at 18% of industrial load in Q1 2026 as well. (RocketCityNow; Axios Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02)
• TVA has proposed a new rate class for data centers — ending their eligibility for the lower manufacturing power rate and creating a separate rate for large power users — explicitly to keep residential rates as low as possible. (WVLT; WHNT; Decatur Daily; 256 Today, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Huntsville Utilities rates: a 5.2% electric rate increase was approved in October 2024 and phased in, with the final 1.2% taking effect in October 2025. (RocketCityNow, accessed 2026-08-02)
• On the bill question, be precise: RocketCityNow's VERIFY piece concluded there is no direct evidence that data centers alone are causing residential bills to rise, and Huntsville Utilities attributed spring 2026 high bills mostly to cold weather. Both things can be true — no proven direct causation today, and a load trajectory that TVA itself is restructuring rates to manage. (RocketCityNow VERIFY; Axios Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Renewables: Meta signed a 2018 TVA deal for solar capable of producing 377 MW — a 227 MW First Solar installation in Colbert County, AL and a 150 MW NextEra project in Lincoln County, TN. (Data Center Dynamics, accessed 2026-08-02)
• New substation or transmission line siting specific to North Huntsville: Not found as of 2026-08-02.

4. Water & Drought

• Serving utility: Huntsville Utilities provides water as well as electricity and gas. (Huntsville Utilities, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Sewer: the Meta expansion included a $2.8 million sanitary sewer extension, of which $2.5 million was company-funded. (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Gallons per day, cooling design, or a withdrawal permit for the Meta Huntsville campus: Not found as of 2026-08-02. Meta's general design position is closed-loop liquid cooling with dry coolers, and a corporate commitment to be water positive by 2030 (Meta Sustainability — Water, accessed 2026-08-02) — but no Huntsville-specific figure was located.
• Resource concerns are being reported regionally: RocketCityNow's "Data center growth raises long-term resource concerns in North Alabama" covers water and power together. (RocketCityNow, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 2026-06-30 showed Alabama statewide at 86.32% none / 12.19% D0 / 1.50% D1. Drought.gov's Madison County page listed D0 — abnormally dry. UAH's Alabama Office of the State Climatologist publishes a weekly drought update. Check the live sources before relying on this. (Drought.gov — Madison County; U.S. Drought Monitor; UAH weekly drought update, accessed 2026-08-02)

5. Population & Who Lives Here

• ZIP 35810: 69.2% Black, population 32,705 (Census ACS 2023, per the project's demographic dataset). This is the largest population of the six ZIPs in this Alabama cluster.
• North Huntsville is the historically Black side of a city whose growth, wealth, and federal employment base sit south and east. The City of Huntsville's own framing of the Meta project — "Data center expansion to benefit North Huntsville, local schools" — is an acknowledgement that North Huntsville is understood as a place needing investment.
• Unlike Prichard or Hayneville, North Huntsville is growing: the July 2026 approval of 1,800 housing units on 500+ acres north of Bob Wade Lane, plus the under-construction North Village retail development, indicate active residential and commercial development. (WAFF; Axios Huntsville, "Building the new north Huntsville", accessed 2026-08-02)
• Current poverty rate and trend for 35810: Not independently verified here as of 2026-08-02. Use Census QuickFacts — Huntsville city, Alabama and ACS ZIP-level tables.

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

Documented community benefits from the 2021 Meta expansion (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02):

• Infrastructure: Monroe and Liberty Hill road improvements; a traffic signal on Pulaski Pike; a $2.8 million sanitary sewer extension ($2.5M company-funded).
• Schools and city: an estimated $8.1 million return on investment to the city and schools; $8–10 million annually to schools once the second campus is complete.
• Grants: $1.9 million to Huntsville/Madison County for schools and nonprofits; Space Camp sponsorship for 150+ students over three years; STEM education and community equity initiatives.
• Later grants: $300,000 total — $225,000 to the Raise Your Hand program with the Schools Foundation and $75,000 to the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering. (256 Today, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Jobs: 50 new positions at a minimum $80,000/yr plus benefits in the 2021 expansion (75 employees hired at that time); 300+ operational jobs anticipated at full build; 1,000+ construction workers during builds.
• Official named: Shane Davis, Director of Urban and Economic Development, City of Huntsville.

Tax abatement or PILOT terms — dollar value and duration — for the Meta Huntsville campus: Not found as of 2026-08-02. The city's release describes a return on investment and school revenue, which is a different figure from an abatement schedule. Both numbers exist for most projects of this size. Ask the City Clerk and the Madison County Commission for the abatement agreement itself.

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

• No organized opposition group, petition, lawsuit, or moratorium campaign specific to North Huntsville data centers was found as of 2026-08-02. This is the quietest of the six sites in this cluster. Coverage is dominated by economic-development framing on one side and TVA rate policy on the other.
• The one contested political thread found: State Sen. Merika Coleman (D-Pleasant Grove) spoke of controversy and concern about a large data center moving into her district — but Pleasant Grove is in Jefferson County, not Madison County, so that reference is to the Birmingham/Bessemer area, not North Huntsville. (Alabama Daily News, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Statewide sentiment: a survey of 492 Alabamians found 70% favor regulating data centers or oppose them outright. Hville Blast carried the Huntsville version. (Hville Blast; Bham Now, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Bill anger is real and politically live nationally, including in Alabama, heading into the 2026 midterms. (AOL/AP syndication, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Outlets covering North Alabama data centers: WHNT News 19, WAFF 48, RocketCityNow (WZDX), Axios Huntsville, Hville Blast, 256 Today, Huntsville Business Journal, Decatur Daily, Alabama Daily News.

8. Find Out For Yourself

City of Huntsville

• Municipal Building / City Hall: 308 Fountain Circle SW, Huntsville, AL 35801 (city offices; verify the current address on the city site)
• City Clerk's Office: (256) 427-5090 (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02). Clerk's name and email: Not found as of 2026-08-02 — ask when you call.
• City Council office / sign up for public comment: (256) 427-5011. You can also register before the meeting at the front desk in the lobby of City Hall. (same source)
• Council meetings: 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m., 1st Floor Chambers, Municipal Building. (same source)
• Agendas & archives: https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/city-council/agendas-archives/ — agendas post Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in the week of a regular meeting. (accessed 2026-08-02)
• Full agenda/minutes portal (Legistar): https://huntsvilleal.legistar.com/MainBody.aspx (accessed 2026-08-02) — this is where you search past items by keyword.
• Watch live: HuntsvilleAL.gov/HSVTV (accessed 2026-08-02)
• Urban & Economic Development: Director Shane Davis (City of Huntsville, accessed 2026-08-02). Direct phone/email: Not found as of 2026-08-02.

Ask these when you call (256) 427-5090:

1. Are there any pending applications, rezonings, or site plans for data centers in the 35810 area or the North Huntsville Industrial Park? (This is the direct way to check whether the resident reports correspond to a real filing.)
2. What is the exact parcel and ZIP for the Meta campus, and what is the approved site plan?
3. What tax abatement agreement, if any, applies to the Meta Huntsville campus — dollar value and duration?
4. Does the city have a noise ordinance applicable to the facility, and who enforces it?

Search the record yourself: use https://huntsvilleal.legistar.com/MainBody.aspx and search "data center," "data processing," and the parcel address. Legistar holds past agendas and minutes.

Madison County

• Madison County Commission — https://www.madisoncountyal.gov/ (accessed 2026-08-02). Abatement resolutions typically appear here. Note: searches for "Madison County data center moratorium" return results for Madison County, Indiana — check the state before relying on any result.

Utilities — this is TVA territory, not Alabama Power

• Huntsville Utilities — https://www.hsvutil.org/ · electric education/rates: https://www.hsvutil.org/residential_services/residential_rates.php (accessed 2026-08-02). Huntsville Utilities buys wholesale from TVA.
• TVA — https://www.tva.com/ (accessed 2026-08-02). TVA's proposed new rate class for data centers is the single most consequential open item for North Huntsville ratepayers. TVA board meetings are public; rate proposals go through TVA's own public process, not the Alabama PSC.

Operator

• Meta Huntsville Data Center info sheet — https://datacenters.atmeta.com/asset/huntsville-data-center-info-sheet/ (accessed 2026-08-02)
• DC BLOX contact — https://www.dcblox.com/contact-us/ (accessed 2026-08-02)

Local news

• WHNT News 19 — https://whnt.com/ · WAFF 48 — https://www.waff.com/ · RocketCityNow (WZDX) — https://www.rocketcitynow.com/ · Axios Huntsville — https://www.axios.com/local/huntsville · Hville Blast — https://hvilleblast.com/ · 256 Today — https://256today.com/ · Huntsville Business Journal — https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/ · Speakin' Out Weekly News (Black-owned, Huntsville) — https://speakinoutweeklynews.net/ (all accessed 2026-08-02). Specific tip-line numbers and emails: Not found as of 2026-08-02 — use each outlet's contact page.

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

An honest read. Not advice.

North Huntsville is the only site in this cluster where the data center is old news and the neighborhood is growing. Meta has been operating off Pulaski Pike for years. In July 2026 the city approved 1,800 housing units on 500+ acres in North Huntsville, and a retail development is under construction. That is a genuinely different situation from Prichard, Hayneville, or Bessemer.

What that means for a buyer:

• Power reliability and cost is the real variable, and it is a TVA question, not an Alabama Power question. Data centers went from ~1% to 18% of TVA's industrial load in about six years and TVA projects that doubling again by 2030. TVA has proposed a separate, higher rate class for data centers specifically to shield residential customers. Whether that holds is the thing to watch. Huntsville Utilities also raised electric rates 5.2% across 2024–2025.
• The verified fact-check matters: there is no direct evidence today that data centers alone are driving residential bills up in Huntsville. Do not buy or avoid based on a claim that isn't yet established either way.
• Community benefit here is unusually well documented compared to the other five sites: road improvements, a Pulaski Pike traffic signal, a $2.8M sewer extension mostly company-funded, and $8–10 million annually to schools once the second campus completes. Those are real numbers on the record. What is not on the record is the abatement schedule that offsets them — get both before you judge the trade.
• Water: Madison County was listed at D0 (abnormally dry) on Drought.gov. No site-specific water figure for the Meta campus was found. North Alabama outlets are actively reporting long-term resource concerns.
• Noise and light: no North Huntsville–specific noise complaints were found in reporting. Elsewhere in Alabama, neighbors report data center noise is most noticeable at night when generators run. Visit at night before you buy.

On the five resident reports from 35810: no new public filing, proposal, moratorium, or lawsuit was found that corresponds to them. If residents are seeing new activity, that activity is resident-reported only — no public source found as of 2026-08-02, and the fastest way to resolve it is a call to the City Clerk at (256) 427-5090 and a keyword search of Legistar.

10. Sources

All accessed 2026-08-02.

1. City of Huntsville, "Data center expansion to benefit North Huntsville, local schools" — https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/data-center-expansion-to-benefit-north-huntsville-local-schools/
2. Data Center Dynamics, "Meta expanding Huntsville data center in Alabama" — https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/meta-expanding-huntsville-data-center-in-alabama/
3. Data Center Map, Meta Huntsville Campus Data Center — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/alabama/huntsville/meta-data-center-hunstville/
4. Data Center Map, Meta Huntsville Building 5 — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/alabama/huntsville/meta-huntsville-building-5/
5. Baxtel, Huntsville Data Centers & Colocation — https://baxtel.com/data-center/huntsville
6. Baxtel, Meta Huntsville Campus Data Center — https://baxtel.com/data-center/facebook-huntsville
7. Meta Data Centers, Huntsville info sheet — https://datacenters.atmeta.com/asset/huntsville-data-center-info-sheet/
8. Huntsville Business Journal, "Meta Announces Further Expansion Of Huntsville Data Center Campus" (2022-06-14) — https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/news/2022/06/14/meta-announces-further-expansion-of-huntsville-data-center-campus/
9. WAAY 31, "Meta announces expansion, more jobs at Facebook's Huntsville Data Center" — https://www.waaytv.com/news/meta-announces-expansion-more-jobs-at-facebook-s-huntsville-data-center/article_62d9d1a4-e812-11ec-9600-ef1ab6f5f4d3.html
10. 256 Today, "Meta announces recipients of Huntsville Data Center Community Action Grants" — https://256today.com/meta-announces-recipients-of-huntsville-data-center-community-action-grants/
11. DC BLOX, Huntsville data center — https://www.dcblox.com/data-centers/huntsville/
12. Data Center Map, DC BLOX HSV-1 (333 Diamond Drive NW) — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/alabama/huntsville/dc-blox-hsv-1/
13. 256 Today, "DC Blox to develop hyperscale edge node data center in Huntsville" — https://256today.com/dc-blox-to-develop-hyperscale-edge-node-data-center-in-huntsville/
14. Made in Alabama, "DC BLOX plans new advanced data centers in Montgomery and Huntsville" (2024-11) — https://www.madeinalabama.com/2024/11/dc-blox-plans-new-advanced-data-centers-in-montgomery-and-huntsville/
15. RocketCityNow, "Data center growth raises long-term resource concerns in North Alabama" — https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/data-center-growth-raises-resource-concerns-in-tennessee-valley/525-7ba31014-4960-4679-ae20-e40b2e554a4c
16. RocketCityNow VERIFY, "No, there is no direct evidence that data centers are causing your electric bill to go up" — https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/verify/verify-no-there-is-no-direct-evidence-that-data-centers-are-causing-your-electric-bill-to-go-up-tva-huntsville-utilities/525-48d01ad6-395c-410a-81e4-4274df44e709
17. RocketCityNow, "Huntsville Utilities electric rate increase approved, will happen in two phases" — https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/huntsville-utilities-electric-rate-increase-approved-will-happen-in-two-phases/525-b443fda1-cd76-4a0f-9363-4aa192ad81bd
18. WVLT, "TVA proposes new rate class for data centers to protect customer power bills" (2026-05-27) — https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/05/27/tva-proposes-new-rate-class-data-centers-protect-customer-power-bills/
19. WHNT, "TVA considering rate changes due to data centers" — https://whnt.com/news/tva-considering-rate-changes-due-to-data-centers/
20. Decatur Daily, "TVA rate changes would increase data center power bills" — https://www.decaturdaily.com/news/local/tva-rate-changes-would-increase-data-center-power-bills/article_5b0b4a49-4d75-4e2d-8966-f91e28c17469.html
21. 256 Today, "New TVA rate structure coming for data centers, board member says" — https://256today.com/new-tva-rate-structure-coming-for-data-centers-board-member-says/
22. Axios Huntsville, "Data center demand gut-check" (2026-03-04) — https://www.axios.com/local/huntsville/2026/03/04/data-center-demand-gut-check
23. Axios Huntsville, "Huntsville Utilities: Cold temps (mostly) drove high power bills" (2026-03-30) — https://www.axios.com/local/huntsville/2026/03/30/huntsville-utilities-high-bills-cold-weather-city-council
24. Axios Huntsville, "Building the new north Huntsville" (2026-07-27) — https://www.axios.com/local/huntsville/2026/07/27/building-the-new-north-huntsville
25. WAFF, "Huntsville City Council approves 500-acre rezoning, 1,800 housing units for North Huntsville" (2026-07-24) — https://www.waff.com/2026/07/24/huntsville-city-council-approves-500-acre-rezoning-1800-housing-units-north-huntsville/
26. WHNT, "Planning commission approves rezoning for 1,800 homes in north Huntsville" — https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/planning-commission-approves-rezoning-for-1800-homes-in-north-huntsville/
27. City of Huntsville, "City Council approves rezoning of Harris Farms for planned housing development" — https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/city-council-approves-rezoning-of-harris-farms-for-plan-housing-development/
28. City of Huntsville, Agendas & Archives — https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/city-council/agendas-archives/
29. City of Huntsville Legistar portal — https://huntsvilleal.legistar.com/MainBody.aspx
30. Huntsville Utilities — https://www.hsvutil.org/ · residential rates — https://www.hsvutil.org/residential_services/residential_rates.php
31. Tennessee Valley Authority — https://www.tva.com/
32. Alabama Daily News, "Lawmakers aim to address affordability with restrictions on data centers, changes to utility governance" — https://aldailynews.com/lawmakers-aim-to-address-affordability-with-restrictions-on-power-providers-changes-to-utility-governance/
33. Hville Blast, "Data center growth in Alabama: 492 Alabamians weigh in" — https://hvilleblast.com/data-center-growth-alabama-492-alabamians-weigh-in/
34. Bham Now, "Data center growth in Alabama: 492 Alabamians weigh in" (2026-05-05) — https://bhamnow.com/2026/05/05/data-center-alabama-492-alabamians-weigh-in/
35. WBRC, "Alabama data centers multiply as artificial intelligence fuels growth" (2026-02-18) — https://www.wbrc.com/2026/02/18/alabama-data-centers-multiply-artificial-intelligence-fuels-growth/
36. Meta Sustainability — Water — https://sustainability.atmeta.com/water/
37. Drought.gov, Madison County conditions — https://www.drought.gov/states/alabama/county/madison
38. U.S. Drought Monitor, Alabama — https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?AL
39. UAH Alabama Office of the State Climatologist, weekly drought update — https://www.uah.edu/aosc/weekly-drought-update
40. Census QuickFacts, Huntsville city, Alabama — https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/huntsvillecityalabama
41. Speakin' Out Weekly News, "Huntsville Council Approves Key Zoning Changes…" (2026-07-07) — https://speakinoutweeklynews.net/2026/07/07/huntsville-council-approves-key-zoning-changes-to-fuel-commercial-growth-and-new-housing/