Wichita Falls Planning and Zoning Commission approves a conditional use permit for a DataNovaX data center on Airport Drive
The City of Wichita Falls Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use request from DataNovaX. It lets the company put a data center inside an existing building at 2236 Airport Drive on the north side of the city. The building is a former grocery store and call center of about 37,000 square feet. City staff attached conditions rather than approving the use outright, and the largest was a ban on evaporative cooling, which forces an air cooled design and holds water use down. Development Services director Fabian Medellin said the applicant agreed to the limits, which also cover light pollution and electricity use. City officials put the load at 12 megawatts and the investment at an estimated 100 million dollars. The Airport Drive building is a first piece of a larger Pioneer Park project with a much bigger second phase planned.
How to take part
The Planning and Zoning Commission is a public body of the City of Wichita Falls. Its agendas and minutes are posted through the city's Agenda Center, where a resident can find the meeting date, the item and how to speak. A conditional use permit item is heard in open session.
Where
1 county. In Wichita Falls.
Dates
| Date | What | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-13 | ordered | Date NewsChannel 6 reported the Planning and Zoning Commission approval. The commission's exact meeting date was not confirmed against a city agenda. |
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Another data center is coming to Wichita Falls after the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional-use request for an existing building on Airport Drive.DataNovaX data center approved for Airport Drive in Wichita Falls Journalism
The project, developed by DataNovaX, will bring a smaller-scale data center to the north side of the city, taking up about 37,000 square feet of a former grocery store and call center at 2236 Airport Drive.DataNovaX data center approved for Airport Drive in Wichita Falls Journalism
The facility is expected to use 12 megawatts of electricity and represents an estimated $100 million investment from DataNovaX, according to city officials.DataNovaX data center approved for Airport Drive in Wichita Falls Journalism
"We did prohibit evaporative cooling systems, so those systems that will be more water-intensive. We wanted to make sure and button down really what they can, can't do. And they were willing to commit to all those limitations on themselves," Medellin said.DataNovaX data center approved for Airport Drive in Wichita Falls Journalism
The Airport Drive facility is part of DataNovaX's larger Pioneer Park project. A second phase is planned for the future and would include a 550,000-square-foot expansion.DataNovaX data center approved for Airport Drive in Wichita Falls Journalism