City of Eagan sues data center company Eagan Capital over "temporary chillers"

The City of Eagan is suing Eagan Capital, a data center company in business along Pilot Knob Road, alleging they've been operating "temporary chillers" without proper permits. This comes months after Eagan Capital sued the city over a data center moratorium, calling it "unlawful." This latest lawsuit focuses on "chillers," which cool the data center and prevent overheating. During a city council meeting on Nov. 2, Mayor Mike Maguire announced the legal action and claimed the company was operating "without the required permits and approvals". The court document shows aerial pictures from 2025 showing no chillers on the property and from 2026 showing the chillers in place. In May, a representative for Eagan Capital told the council the company didn't think they needed a permit for installing the chillers but applied for one as soon as they were notified. The representative also said Eagan Capital designed a sound barrier around them. The city denied an interim use permit and later denied an application for a mechanical permit for permanent chillers in part because "data centers are not a permitted principal use in the Research and Development zoning district," the lawsuit explains. "There is a neighborhood just north of that facility in the Lawn Oak and Pilot Knob area that has waited a long time for this process to take place," said Maguire. "We appreciate the patience of that neighborhood." The city also alleges in the lawsuit, despite the sound barrier, that noise levels are beyond code. Denn lives across the street from the facility and hopes the court rules in favor of the city. He told WCCO the noise from the center is constant. "It's just a dull roar all the time, very uncomfortable," Denn said. "We have a patio that is down the hill from the chillers and they just make a lot of noise 24/7; [it] never goes away." In: Eagan News Data Centers Featured Local Savings