Evicted mom leads fight against $5 billion data center in Maryland

A former mall site in Landover, Maryland, has become the center of a local battle over technology infrastructure. Taylor Frazier McCollum, a single mother living less than a mile from the site, led the opposition to a proposed $5 billion data center campus.

The site spans nearly 90 acres in a predominantly Black community and was previously the Landover Mall, which closed in 2002. In 2024, county planners approved the project for the same developer that built the original mall. McCollum described the proposal as bringing water-polluting and diesel-generating facilities directly next to residential areas.

McCollum entered the fight while facing personal financial strain. In 2024, a wage reduction at her waxing center job led to an eviction from her rental unit with her young daughter. The pair moved into her grandfather’s home, where McCollum learned of the data center plans. She launched a petition that collected over 25,000 signatures.

The grassroots effort resulted in widely attended protests and moratoriums on data center construction across Prince George's County. These pauses effectively blocked the $5 billion project. McCollum also testified at the state capitol and endorsed local political candidates. She built a coalition that included socialists, environmentalists, and residents concerned about rising electricity bills.

Staci Hartwell, a long-term environmental activist, said she struggled to gain traction on the issue until McCollum became involved. Hartwell noted that the project was happening in McCollum’s own neighborhood, which served as her awakening to the cause.

Local officials face pressure because the county has lost major economic anchors. The NFL Washington Commanders are returning to D.C., a Six Flags location has closed, and federal job losses have contributed to a budget deficit. Council member Wanika Fisher told McCollum in September that the data center pause did not solve revenue issues, urging a hard discussion about funding sources. McCollum attended that meeting to request a public fund for roof repairs for her grandfather.

McCollum has missed work to attend hearings and knock on doors. Activists helped her secure grants to travel to Atlanta, Memphis, and Zambia to support similar fights against hyperscale data centers. Her father, Lacy McCollum Jr., compared her activism to the work of civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr., stating that people like her allow others to make progress.

McCollum has been encouraged to run for office but said she wants to pay off debt and traffic tickets first. She is currently pitching alternatives for the Landover site, including a sports complex, affordable housing, or a heritage tourism site, while acknowledging those options may generate less revenue than the data center campus.