Digital Realty outlines Astra data-center campus; residents press city on water, noise and transparency

Digital Realty representatives introduced their recently acquired parcels at the Astra Enterprise Industrial Park and described a preliminary campus design and community engagement plans at the DeSoto City Council meeting on June 4.

The company said it purchased two parcels at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant and showed early sketches for a campus of roughly nine buildings. Rafael Rack, senior vice president of leasing and development for Digital Realty, said the company views the site as an opportunity for brownfield revitalization and pledged to design the project to meet local standards. "We operate 300-plus facilities across 50 metro areas," Rack said, adding that the company funds grid and substation connections and aims to be a long-term community partner.

Residents used the meeting's public-comment period to press officials on environmental and neighborhood impacts. "These campuses consume up to 10,000,000 gallons of water daily from the Kansas River Basin," said Jennifer Sharp, a resident, who urged the council to impose a town-wide cap on combined data-center power and water use and to stop property-tax incentives for the developer. Other speakers cited potential health effects from low-frequency sound, risks to wells and livestock, and concerns about limited public notice and non‑disclosure agreements connected to negotiations.

Digital Realty said it has an executed energy-service agreement (ESA) with Evergy and estimated the company will fund about $300,000,000 in transmission and substation infrastructure for the north campus. Enrique Biatto, who the presentation identified as leading entitlement and regulatory work, described water-management plans: the company said the north parcel has been allocated 1,000,000 gallons per day and that the design includes on‑site storage tanks and a proposed modular industrial wastewater-treatment plant on the south parcel to treat and reuse effluent. "Industrial wastewater will need to be addressed," Biatto said, adding that the firm would follow KDHE and EPA rules and does not plan to commingle treated effluent with potable water.

Digital Realty also addressed noise and vibration concerns. The company described acoustic enclosure options for generators, rooftop‑equipment barriers, vibration isolators for mechanical equipment and the requirement to demonstrate compliance with local noise regulations before receiving a certificate of occupancy. "We'll have to perform an acoustic study," Biatto said, and the developer said it would meet local zoning and building code requirements.

The presentation included estimates of community benefits and impacts: Digital Realty said construction could generate more than 1,000 jobs and that ongoing operations might support roughly 250 full-time positions. The company also said it would fund certain roadway and transmission improvements and that it plans community engagement events, including an open house and a public meeting on June 18 at DeSoto High School.

Council members and staff asked for slides and materials to be posted so residents who could not attend can review them. City staff also noted they are exploring acoustic consultants and potential ordinance updates to address low-frequency noise.

What happens next: Digital Realty said it is in early entitlement stages and plans further community meetings and a formal review of site plans and permitting; the council did not vote on project approvals at the June 4 meeting.