Memphis

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (1 resident report, 2026-05-20) · ZIP demographics: 94.6% Black, pop 21,827 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Shelby (roughly 54% Black — verify at census.gov/quickfacts/shelbycountytennessee) Status: No data center sited inside 38106 confirmed. Adjacent-impact zone — the xAI/SpaceXAI Colossus complex operates in neighboring 38109, and national and local coverage repeatedly describes it as "South Memphis."

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

0. Snapshot

• No data center facility with an address inside ZIP 38106 was found as of 2026-08-02.
• The single resident report on this ZIP is best understood as part of the South Memphis impact zone. Press coverage — including national outlets — routinely calls the xAI Colossus site "South Memphis," and that facility's mailing addresses (3231 Riverport Rd; 5400/5414/5420 Tulane Rd) are in 38109, the ZIP immediately southwest.
• 38106 covers the historic South Memphis core: Soulsville, LeMoyne-Owen College, South Parkway, Riverside. It is 94.6% Black.
• What reaches 38106 is regional air quality, ozone, and the county-wide permitting decisions made by the Memphis & Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board — not a facility next door.
• Resident-reported only — no public source found as of 2026-08-02 for a data center project inside 38106 itself.

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

Inside 38106: Not found as of 2026-08-02. No proposed, approved, under-construction or operating data center with a 38106 address surfaced in searches of trade databases, local news, or Memphis/Shelby County records available online.

Nearest facilities, all in adjacent ZIPs:

Sources: datacentermap Colossus 1, datacentermap 5400 Tulane Rd, DCD, datacentermap Connect Memphis — accessed 2026-08-02.

Where the line falls. 38106 and 38109 are both over 94% Black. The heavy industry — refinery, retired coal plant, wastewater treatment, riverport — sits in and along 38109. 38106 is the residential South Memphis core just to the northeast. Air does not stop at a ZIP boundary; permits and enforcement for both are handled by the same county body.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

No hearing, rezoning case, or permit notice specific to a data center in 38106 was found as of 2026-08-02.

The county-level proceedings that do affect 38106 air quality:

Sources: Local Memphis, TechCrunch, Local Memphis appeal, Daily Memphian — accessed 2026-08-02.

3. Power

• No data-center substation or large-load interconnection specific to 38106 was found as of 2026-08-02.
• MLGW is the electric, gas and water utility for all of Memphis, including 38106. MLGW has committed to substation build-outs for the xAI load in the riverport corridor, with cost recovery through monthly rebates to the company until MLGW takes ownership. Every MLGW customer is inside that rate base. (MLGW xAI Update, 2025-05-05; DCD, accessed 2026-08-02)
• TVA approved an additional 150 MW for the southwest Memphis site in February 2026, bringing that site to roughly 300 MW of grid supply. (WREG, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Statewide rate context: a July 2026 ThinkTennessee analysis found residential electric bills in Tennessee areas hosting data centers rose 3.2% from 2023 to 2024, while commercial bills in the same areas fell 0.2%. (Nashville Banner; report PDF, accessed 2026-08-02)

4. Water & Drought

• 38106's drinking water is Memphis Sand aquifer water delivered by MLGW — the same supply as the rest of the city.
• Aquifer risk is city-wide, not ZIP-specific. Protect Our Aquifer's concern is that increased pumping near the Davis Wellfield could draw arsenic from the shallow aquifer into the drinking-water supply. (protectouraquifer.org, accessed 2026-08-02)
• The xAI operation draws roughly 1.2–1.3 million gallons per day of municipal drinking water under its MLGW contract, against an estimated total need of ~5.7 MGD. The $80M greywater plant intended to end that draw is paused, with a stated commitment to resume by Q1 2027. (WREG, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Drought: as of 2026-07-07 about 45% of Tennessee was in active drought (31.9% D1, 13.1% D2). County-level status for Shelby was not confirmable from a reachable source; check droughtmonitor.unl.edu. (PlantMaps, accessed 2026-08-02)

5. Population & Who Lives Here

• ZIP 38106: 94.6% Black; population 21,827 (Census ACS 2023).
• 38106 is the historic South Memphis core — Soulsville, LeMoyne-Owen College, South Parkway. It has a long-documented history of disinvestment, redlining and industrial siting.
• Health burden: South Memphis leads Tennessee in emergency department visits for asthma. Shelby County received an "F" for ozone from the American Lung Association (2024), and Memphis ranked 15th most challenging U.S. city for people with asthma (AAFA, 2024). (E&E News/POLITICO; Capital B News, accessed 2026-08-02)
• Ozone is a regional pollutant. NOx emitted in the riverport corridor forms ozone downwind, which is why 38106 residents have a direct stake in permits issued for 38109 facilities.

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

• No PILOT, abatement, or incentive tied to a 38106 data center was found as of 2026-08-02, because no such facility was found.
• Shelby County incentives are granted through EDGE and eight other PILOT-granting boards; Memphis and Shelby County give roughly $71M/year in combined tax breaks. (EDGE; Shelby County PILOT; FOX13 Investigates, accessed 2026-08-02)
• A confirmed approved PILOT for xAI/SpaceXAI in Shelby County was Not found as of 2026-08-02. (WREG, accessed 2026-08-02)

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

• Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), led by KeShaun Pearson, organizes across South Memphis including 38106 — not only Boxtown.
• Young, Gifted & Green is a co-appellant on the xAI air permit appeal.
• Reporting on this fight consistently frames it as a South Memphis story: see the Heinrich Böll Stiftung piece "The Promise of 'The Peace of Plenty': How South Memphis Is Refusing AI's Big Lies" (2026-01-28) and NAACP's description of Colossus 2's power plant as serving a "South Memphis" data center.
• Newsrooms: MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Daily Memphian, Commercial Appeal, Tri-State Defender, Memphis Flyer, WREG, Action News 5 (WMC), FOX13, Local Memphis (WATN), Tennessee Lookout.

Sources: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, NAACP, Capital B News — accessed 2026-08-02.

8. Find Out For Yourself

Air permits — the door that matters most for 38106

Shelby County Health Department, Pollution Control Section

• 1826 Sycamore View Rd, Memphis, TN 38134 · Phone (901) 222-9599 · Fax (901) 222-9550
• shelbytnhealth.com/170/Air-Pollution-Control · Pollution Control Programs
• Public records requests: shelbytnhealth.com/623/Air-Pollution-Control-Public-Records-Req

Memphis & Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board

• shelbytnhealth.com/675/Air-Pollution-Control-Board · shelbycountytn.gov/112/Air-Pollution-Control-Board
• Contact listed in county documents: Kasia Smith-Alexander, Bureau Director, Environmental Health Bureau — kasia.alexander@shelbycountytn.gov

City

Memphis City Hall / City Council — 125 N. Main St., Room 514, Memphis, TN 38103 · (901) 636-6786

• memphistn.gov/city-council — agendas, minutes, livestream. Meetings in Council Chambers, lobby floor of City Hall. Agendas posted at least 48 hours in advance.
• Find your council member and super district: Shelby County districts map

Memphis-Shelby County Division of Planning & Development / Land Use Control Board — ask for any pending rezoning or special use permit applications in 38106. Start at memphistn.gov.

County, utility, incentives

• Shelby County Board of Commissioners — shelbycountytn.gov
• MLGW — mlgw.com — board agendas, service agreements, rate cases
• EDGE — edgemem.com — PILOT applications and compliance reports
• TVA — tva.com — large-load agreements, proposed data-center rate class

Advocacy

Memphis Community Against Pollution · Young, Gifted & Green · SELC · Protect Our Aquifer

Five questions worth asking on the phone

1. Health Department: Are there any air permit applications pending for any address inside ZIP 38106? What is the nearest ambient air monitor to my street, and does it measure ozone?
2. Health Department: Show me the modeled ozone and NOx impact area for the xAI turbine permit — does it include 38106?
3. Planning & Development: Are there any rezoning or special-use applications in 38106 for "data center," "computing facility," "telecommunications," or heavy industrial use?
4. MLGW: Is any new large-load electric service or substation being planned in or adjacent to 38106?
5. City Council member: Will Memphis adopt data-center zoning rules — setbacks from homes and schools, noise caps, limits on on-site gas generation — the way Nashville did on 2026-07-21?

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

• There is no known data center in 38106. What you are buying into is the air shed, the aquifer, and the utility rate base shared with the largest AI compute build-out in the region, about two to four miles southwest.
• Air. The pre-existing burden here is heavy and well documented: highest asthma ER rates in the state, county "F" grade for ozone. Independent monitoring around the xAI site reported peak NO₂ up 79% immediately around the facility and up 9% in Boxtown; 38106 is farther out, and no ZIP-specific monitoring result was found.
• Water. Aquifer quality and quantity questions are city-wide and unresolved until the greywater plant is finished.
• Bills. MLGW ratepayers are carrying substation cost recovery; statewide, residential bills rose faster in data-center host areas.
• Land pressure. Industrial demand is concentrated in the riverport corridor in 38109, not in the 38106 residential core — but if Memphis adopts no data-center zoning, adjacent industrially-zoned parcels anywhere in South Memphis remain available for this use by right. That is the single biggest unresolved variable.
• What to verify yourself before deciding: whether the Air Pollution Control Board upholds or overturns the 15-turbine permit; whether Memphis passes zoning rules; and whether the greywater plant is finished.

10. Sources

All accessed 2026-08-02.

1. datacentermap — xAI Colossus 1, 3231 Riverport Rd — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/tennessee/memphis/xai-memphis-supercluster/
2. datacentermap — 5400 Tulane Road — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/tennessee/memphis/5400-tulane-road/
3. datacentermap — Connect Memphis, 3900 S Mendenhall Rd — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/tennessee/memphis/connect-memphis/
4. datacentermap — Memphis facilities list — https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/tennessee/memphis/
5. DCD — "Musk confirms fourth SpaceXAI data center in Memphis…" — https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/musk-confirms-fourth-spacexai-data-center-in-memphis-company-starts-removing-illegal-gas-turbines/
6. DCD — "Utility firm MLGW defends support of xAI data center" — https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/utility-firm-mlgw-defends-support-of-xai-data-center-in-memphis-tennessee/
7. Local Memphis — 1,700+ public comments on xAI air permit — https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/as-seen-on-tv/find-it/shelby-county-health-department-xai-turbines/522-fc5a1114-1023-43ec-a11f-e748447cba84
8. Local Memphis — SELC files appeal with pollution board — https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/selc-files-appeal-with-pollution-board-xai-permits/522-5a44840b-afc5-4f14-91f4-9df32e062820
9. TechCrunch — xAI gets permits for 15 natural gas generators (2025-07-03) — https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/03/xai-gets-permits-for-15-natural-gas-generators-at-memphis-data-center
10. Daily Memphian — Memphis City Council discusses data center zoning — https://dailymemphian.com/article/64540/memphis-city-council-zoning-changes-data-centers
11. MLGW — xAI Update (2025-05-05 PDF) — https://www.mlgw.com/images/content/files/pdf/new/5-5-25%20xAI%20Update.pdf
12. WREG — TVA OKs additional 150 MW — https://wreg.com/news/local/tva-oks-additional-150-mw-of-electricity-for-xai-memphis-data-center/
13. WREG — xAI to resume construction on wastewater recycling facility — https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-to-resume-construction-on-wastewater-recycling-facility-memphis-mayor-says/
14. WREG — Questions remain on tax breaks, jobs for xAI project — https://wreg.com/news/local/questions-remain-on-tax-breaks-jobs-for-xai-project-in-memphis/
15. Protect Our Aquifer — xAI Supercomputer — https://www.protectouraquifer.org/issues/xai-supercomputer
16. Capital B News — "We Deserve to Breathe Clean Air" — https://capitalbnews.org/we-deserve-to-breathe-clean-air-memphis-residents-take-on-elon-musks-xai/
17. E&E News / POLITICO — 35 gas turbines, no air pollution permits — https://www.eenews.net/articles/elon-musks-xai-in-memphis-35-gas-turbines-no-air-pollution-permits/
18. Heinrich Böll Stiftung — "How South Memphis Is Refusing AI's Big Lies" (2026-01-28) — https://us.boell.org/en/2026/01/28/promise-peace-plenty-how-south-memphis-refusing-ais-big-lies
19. NAACP — NAACP Sues xAI — https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-sues-xai-illegal-pollution-data-center-power-plant
20. Nashville Banner — "Data centers drive up electricity costs for Tennessee residents" (2026-07-07) — https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/07/07/tennessee-data-centers-electricity-costs-report/
21. ThinkTennessee — "Powering the Boom, Part 1" (July 2026 PDF) — https://www.thinktennessee.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/poweringtheboom-part1_report_thinktn_july2026.pdf
22. EDGE — Tax Incentives — https://edgemem.com/tax-incentives/
23. Shelby County — PILOT Program — https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/308/PILOT-Program
24. FOX13 Investigates — $71M in annual tax breaks — https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/fox13-investigates-memphis-shelby-county-give-combined-71m-in-tax-breaks-annually-to-companies/article_b4531a62-0652-11ef-a852-2326edf06cd0.html
25. Shelby County Health Dept — Air Pollution Control — https://www.shelbytnhealth.com/170/Air-Pollution-Control
26. Shelby County Health Dept — Air Pollution Control Board — https://www.shelbytnhealth.com/675/Air-Pollution-Control-Board
27. Shelby County Health Dept — Public records requests — https://www.shelbytnhealth.com/623/Air-Pollution-Control-Public-Records-Req
28. Shelby County Health Dept — Pollution Control Section form (address/phone) — https://shelbytnhealth.com/DocumentCenter/View/403/APCV20IN
29. City of Memphis — City Council — https://memphistn.gov/city-council
30. Shelby County districts map — https://gis.shelbycountytn.gov/regis/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6ef9c4e92f754c0aa1dc8fb0146a2f32
31. U.S. Drought Monitor — Tennessee — https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?TN
32. PlantMaps — Tennessee current drought conditions (2026-07-07) — https://www.plantmaps.com/en/us/state/tennessee/current-drought-conditions