Lowell becomes first city in MA to sue a data center
More than a dozen residents are using the expansion of a 352k data center
Lowell residents are no strangers to the 352,000-square-foot data center operated by the Markley Group in their backyards. But as data centers rapidly expand across the country, driven largely by the rise of artificial intelligence, some residents in the Massachusetts city have filed the state’s first lawsuit against a data center, alleging its expansion has disrupted life in the Sacred Heart and Back Central neighborhoods, both long designated as environmental justice communities.
The complaint, filed April 27 in Middlesex County Superior Court, alleges the decade-old facility:
Looms over nearby homes, including a Little League baseball field
Operates diesel generators that contribute to noise and emissions
Has surveillance cameras monitoring the surrounding streets and backyards
The troubles trace back to 2025, when the Markley Group applied for an air permit to add eight new diesel generators at the site, bringing the total to 27 generators and 16 cooling towers. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection approved the permit on July 3, 2025. Residents appealed, but it was denied in August. They were told they could continue as “aggrieved persons” — leading to the April 2026 lawsuit.
Lowell residents expressed mixed reactions on social media. Some pointed to the economic benefits.
“That baseball field does not get used at all. The buildings next to it are empty and run down. The data center brings in money and jobs. I know several electricians that live in Lowell and work there,” Bostonsparky103 said in a TikTok comment.
Others raised concerns about pollution, rising costs, and quality of life.
“Doing organizing in Lowell currently around this issue. Markley has bought up three other properties as well. They’re suing because they weren’t supposed to continue construction for a year but they have already begun expanding. People who live near it can’t afford electricity or water any longer and have been physically affected by the pollution,” Big_Y79 said in a TikTok comment.
The lawsuit arrives as Lowell recently became one of the first cities in Massachusetts to impose a temporary moratorium on new data center construction. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say this is also the first lawsuit against a data center in the state — a potential precedent as similar facilities multiply nationwide.
This is a basic run down of what you need to know about the Lowell data centers and part one of our series on data centers. Subscribe to stay updated for part two.