WF Industrial Yaphank Data Center
Yaphank, Suffolk County, NY
Also known as Wildflower Yaphank data center, Brookhaven Logistics Center
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
Wildflower Ltd, through its WF Industrial arm, proposes converting three vacant warehouses it built near the Long Island Expressway in Yaphank into an AI data center drawing up to 176.6 megawatts from the LIPA grid. The roughly $1 billion project would occupy about 549,000 square feet on a 71-acre site roughly 1,000 feet from homes. It drew sustained opposition from residents and from Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico, and after a public hearing that ran nearly six hours on July 16, 2026, the Town Board unanimously adopted an 18-month moratorium on data centers. Gov. Kathy Hochul's July 14, 2026 executive order separately paused state permits for data centers of 50 megawatts or more. As of the town's action, no formal application had been filed.
- Stated investment
- $1 billion
- Site size
- 71 acres
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Planned capacity | 176.6 MW [5] stated demand from the LIPA grid at full build-out Source excerpt“Up to 176.6 megawatts from LIPA grid” |
|---|---|
| Site size | 71 acres [5]Source excerpt“549,000 square feet on 71 acres” |
| Floor area | 549,000 sq ft [5] three existing warehouse buildings to be converted Source excerpt“549,000 square feet on 71 acres” |
| Buildings | 3 [5] existing vacant warehouses |
| Stated investment | $1 billion [3]Source excerpt“more than $1 billion” |
| Construction jobs | 1,000 [5] developer figure |
Power
| Utility | LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) [2] |
|---|
Water
| Water use | 700,000 gal/day [3] one-time fill of the cooling system, not daily use, per town reporting Source excerpt“about 700,000 gallons” |
|---|---|
| Cooling | Closed-loop system; developer says rainwater collection would supply it [5]Source excerpt“would consume no more water than the trucking warehouses previously approved for the site” |
Money & incentives
| Tax incentives | Existing 12-year PILOT from the Brookhaven IDA on the 2023 warehouse project, starting at $40,448 and rising to $2.11 million a year [7]Source excerpt“12-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement” |
|---|
Local decisions & site
| Nearest homes or schools | approximately 1,000 feet [5]Source excerpt“approximately 1,000 feet from residences” |
|---|
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Timeline
Brookhaven IDA approves benefits for Wildflower's $162 million Brookhaven Logistics Center, three industrial buildings totaling about 550,000 sq ft west of Sills Road on the LIE north service road [7]
An AI-generated flyer circulating on Long Island sparks confusion and concern about a possible Brookhaven data center proposal [1]
The proposal draws opposition from residents and from Town Supervisor Dan Panico, who proposes an 18-month moratorium and says he has support from other Suffolk town supervisors [2]
Gov. Kathy Hochul signs Executive Order No. 62, pausing state DEC permits for data centers of 50 MW or more [6]
Brookhaven Town Board public hearing on the moratorium runs nearly six hours, with about 300 attending and some 60 speaking against data centers [3]
Brookhaven Town Board votes unanimously for an 18-month moratorium on data centers, running to early 2028 while the town writes zoning rules defining data center use [4]
Issues raised
- No formal application for the data center had been filed with the Town of Brookhaven as of the moratorium vote; the town's code does not define data center use [3][5]
- Residents raised electricity, water and noise concerns; the site sits about 1,000 feet from homes [2][5]
- The Suffolk County Water Authority said it could not assess impacts because no application had been submitted [2]
- LIPA said it does not anticipate any issues serving the project's proposed load [2]
- Town reporting put the property tax change at $1.8 million to $40 million a year, with about $30 million going to the Longwood Central School District [3]
- Two moratoria now apply: Brookhaven's 18-month town moratorium and the state executive order covering data centers of 50 MW or more [4][6]
Sources
- AI-generated flyer sparks confusion, concern over possible Brookhaven AI data center proposalNews 12 Long Island · May 27, 2026 · news
- Proposed AI data center in Yaphank meets opposition from residents and town leadersNews 12 Long Island · Jun 25, 2026 · news
- Brookhaven approves 18-month data center moratorium after marathon hearingFire Island News · Jul 24, 2026 · news
- Brookhaven Town Board approves 18-month moratorium on AI data centersNews 12 Long Island · Jul 17, 2026 · news
- State and town moratoriums halt proposed Yaphank data centerThe South Shore Press · Jul 16, 2026 · news
- Executive Order No. 62: Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on Data Centers in New YorkOffice of the Governor of New York · Jul 14, 2026 · government
- $162M Yaphank warehouse project gets IDA assistLong Island Business News, via Wildflower Ltd · Apr 5, 2023 · company
- Local and state moratoria puts $1bn Long Island data center project in limboDatacenterDynamics · Jul 20, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Sep 22, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). WF Industrial Yaphank Data Center. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/wf-industrial-yaphank-ny |
|---|---|
| MLA | “WF Industrial Yaphank Data Center.” Data Center Census, Sep 22, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/wf-industrial-yaphank-ny. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/wf-industrial-yaphank-ny |
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