Post Tagged with: "Milldam Public Relations"

Milldam's Adam Waitkunas Speaks to Bisnow About the Growing Political Backlash Against Data Centers

Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas Speaks to Bisnow About the Growing Political Backlash Against Data Centers

in Article Placement, Client News, Milldam News

With nearly $87 million spent on political advertising mentioning data centers, the industry’s growing community opposition is now taking center stage in the 2026 midterm elections. Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas recently spoke with Bisnow for its article, “Political Campaigns Have Spent $87M Making Data Centers A TV Villain,” examining how data center development has become a major political issue in races across the country. According to advertising analytics firm AdImpact, political campaigns and outside groups have […]

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Don’t Count on Election Day to Cool Data Center Community Pushback

Don’t Count on Election Day to Cool Data Center Community Pushback

in Milldam Minute

The midterms may be amplifying the data center debate, but the industry shouldn’t mistake an election-year spotlight for the source of the backlash. By Adam Waitkunas At nearly every data center conference I attend lately, I hear some version of the same prediction: Once the midterm elections are over, the temperature around data centers will come down. I wouldn’t count on it. There is no question that data centers have become a political issue in […]

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Data Center Backlash Is Becoming a Financial Risk

Data Center Backlash Is Becoming a Financial Risk

in Milldam Minute

As lenders scrutinize community opposition, developers may increasingly need to demonstrate community readiness before securing capital By: Romi Blackstone For years, community engagement in data center development was largely viewed as a public affairs issue. Developers needed to explain their projects. Residents needed an opportunity to ask questions. Local officials needed to understand the economic benefits. And communications professionals were brought in to help navigate the conversation. But that equation is changing. As opposition to […]

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Zoning In

Zoning In

in Client News, Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In shows how quickly data center opposition is moving beyond local zoning fights and becoming a financial, political, and industry-wide risk. Banks and investors are beginning to factor in community resistance, project delays, and even uncertainty about long-term AI demand into financing decisions, while Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel publicly acknowledged the growing pushback. At the same time, President Trump’s criticism of data center opponents drew bipartisan rebukes in Kentucky, and voters […]

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Zoning In

Zoning In

in Milldam Minute, Milldam Monthly

This week’s headlines suggest that, in many cases, the data center industry continues to repeat mistakes it should have learned from by now. Across the country, communities are demanding greater transparency, more meaningful engagement, and a stronger voice in decisions that will shape their future. In Virginia, residents say they were blindsided by a gas-powered data center operating next to their neighborhood. In New Mexico, a long-promised community meeting sparked frustration after residents felt their […]

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Zoning in

Zoning in

in Client News, Milldam Monthly, Milldam News

This week’s Zoning In highlights a clear shift: while energy and water concerns are still present, they’re increasingly being overshadowed by transparency and community engagement—and the consequences when both fall short. Across multiple markets, projects introduced late or with limited public visibility are triggering immediate backlash, with residents focusing less on technical impacts and more on process, access to information, and whether their voices are being heard. That breakdown is showing up in real time. […]

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Designing and Executing a Data Center Town Hall That Builds Trust Instead of Backlash

Designing and Executing a Data Center Town Hall That Builds Trust Instead of Backlash

in Milldam Minute

A guide to planning effective community information and listening sessions By Adam Waitkunas In today’s permitting climate, a data center town hall isn’t just an information session. It’s a pressure test. It’s often the first time residents meet the people behind a project—and the first time rumors, fears, and assumptions collide with facts in the same room. We’ve seen plenty of projects where a poorly planned meeting accelerated opposition, fueled headlines, and hardened positions overnight. […]

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Your Data Center Development Is Being Sued. Now What?

Your Data Center Development Is Being Sued. Now What?

in Milldam Minute, Milldam News

A Guide for Managing PR During Litigation By Adam Waitkunas When a data center project becomes the subject of litigation, whether over zoning, environmental review, utilities, or land use, the instinct inside many organizations is to go quiet. “No comment.” “Let legal handle it.” “Freeze everything.” While caution is warranted, silence is rarely neutral. Litigation does not pause the public conversation and, more often than not, it intensifies it. Neighbors organize. Social media fills the […]

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Bridging the Data Center NDA Trust Gap: Why Developers Need a New Transparency and Community ROI Playbook

Bridging the Data Center NDA Trust Gap: Why Developers Need a New Transparency and Community ROI Playbook

in Milldam Minute

-Adam Waitkunas As community opposition delays tens of billions of dollars in data center investment, developers are discovering that NDAs alone no longer protect projects—they often undermine trust. This piece explores how transparency, Community ROI, and executive visibility can be integrated into site selection and due diligence to reduce entitlement risk. For years, non-disclosure agreements have been treated as an unavoidable feature of data center development. NDAs protect competitive positioning, land negotiations, customer relationships, and […]

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Adam Waitkunas Catches Up With Bisnow on How Power, Politics, and AI Will Shape Data Center Development in 2026

Adam Waitkunas Catches Up With Bisnow on How Power, Politics, and AI Will Shape Data Center Development in 2026

in Client News, Milldam News

Milldam’s Adam Waitkunas recently spoke with Bisnow as part of its annual outlook on the forces shaping data center development in 2026. The wide-ranging piece explores how artificial intelligence, power constraints, capital discipline, and politics are reshaping where and how data centers get built. In the article, Adam highlights a critical shift underway across the industry: community opposition to data centers is no longer an isolated, local entitlement risk. Instead, it is becoming more organized, […]

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