Data center lawsuit could cost Inver Grove Heights taxpayers millions; path to avoid it moves forward

A legal fight over a data center could cost Inver Grove Heights residents millions if the city loses.

The city is being sued by a data center company that submitted its application and said it was in good standing with the city before the Inver Grove Heights City Council approved a one-year moratorium on data centers.

City leaders learned Monday night that losing the lawsuit could cost $20 million — Mayor Brenda Dietrich put that figure into perspective, noting that taxpayers would be footing the bill. 

“A resident’s city taxes would go from $1,833 to $3,053, which is an annual increase of $1,220 or 67%. So, just framing that up in real dollar amounts,” said Dietrich.

A city lawyer said Monday the lawsuit would be dropped if the city excludes Q’Levr from that recently passed one-year data center moratorium. Q’Levr wants to build a 54-thousand-square-foot facility at the former Travel Tags building along Carmen Avenue E...