A planned data center development in Westlake is drawing concern from residents just across the city line in Keller, where neighbors say they were caught off guard by the project and are worried about its potential impact on their community. According to the site plan submitted to Westlake’s Pl anning and Zoning Commission, the Circle T Data Center project would encompass about 3.83 million square feet of commercial space on 87.96 acres near Highway 377 and Westport Parkway. A spokesperson for Westlake said the data center buildings would be 1.1 million square feet. The development sits along the Westlake-Keller border, placing some homes just feet from the project site. Keller resident Kevin Myers can see it through a hole in his fence. “If you look right here, it’s basically where that barbed wire fence is,” Myers said, pointing to the property line separating his neighborhood from the proposed development. Myers said he first learned about the project through a social media post shared by the Town of Westlake on Wednesday. The City of Keller later posted on its social media page, saying that neither the mayor nor city council members were aware of the project before it was publicly announced. “My City Council colleagues and I were unfortunately surprised by the news as well,” Mayor Ross McMullin posted on the city’s official Facebook page. In comments, Westlake told neighbors city leaders spoke with Keller about the data center a year ago, to which McMullin responded, “Even if they met with other city leaders a year ago, I wasn’t part of it and would have appreciated the opportunity to meet with Westlake officials to discuss the project before it was announced so as to understand the actual impact to our residents.” City leaders from Westlake and Keller said they were unavailable for interviews with NBC 5 on Friday, as the cities’ offices are closed on Fridays. “Our concern is, one, the noise. Two, what health impacts it may have on people in this neighborhood, because this neighborhood’s an older crowd, predominantly 50 and up,” Myers said. “And then three, what everybody’s really worried about seems to be the number one topic, how it’s going to negatively affect or impact our property values.” Westlake’s informational webpage about the development addresses some of those concerns. A spokesperson also emailed NBC 5 a statement, saying, “Town staff has been working with the developer to ensure that the site has as little impact as possible on the adjacent Keller residents. The project is meeting all safety standards and will meet the town’s ordinance for noise generation.” The spokesperson added that “a landscaped berm” will be installed along Highway 377 and a landscape buffer of at least 75 feet along the southern property line. “The developer is also adding mature vegetation to the berm and surrounding area to further screen the site and increase sound dampening,” the spokesperson said, stating that the developer will also increase the setback required by the town “to further add to the screening effect of the vegetation and berm. The closest Keller residence is 506 ft from the building line.” According to the town’s informational page, the data center would be required to comply with local noise ordinances limiting sound levels to between 49 and 56 decibels. Westlake also states that data centers are highly regulated facilities subject to environmental and safety standards, and that existing town ordinances are designed to address projects of this scale. The town also referenced comments made by Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Hillwood, the company that owns the property where the data center is planned. “If you’re an AI data center developer, you must be very responsible, and you must take great care of the local community,” Perot said during a recent CNBC interview. But Myers and others in Keller feel they should have been included in discussions sooner. “They didn’t share that info or try to work and be good neighbors here in Keller, especially in this neighborhood,” he said. Myers said he has written to Perot about his concerns, while Keller’s mayor said in a Facebook comment that he plans to meet with Westlake officials next week. “We’re using every avenue to see if we can get this thing farther away,” Myers said. The City of Keller is encouraging residents to attend Westlake’s upcoming Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, where officials are expected to discuss and potentially approve site plans for the project. The meeting is set for Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at 5 p.m., in the Council Chamber, 1500 Solana Blvd, Building 7, Suite 7100. ...read more read less