The race to build AI infrastructure has largely favored sprawling campuses on inexpensive land, but Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is proposing a different path. The global architecture firm has revealed plans for a 20-story vertical data center in downtown Kansas City that compresses computing, power, cooling, and commercial space into a high-rise footprint. Instead of extending across dozens of acres, the project aims to prove that digital infrastructure can coexist with dense urban environments. The proposal reflects a broader shift in how architects and developers are beginning to rethink the physical form of next-generation computing facilities.

A Downtown Tower Instead of a Traditional Campus

The proposed 934 Central Street development will rise on a compact 0.23-acre parcel currently occupied by the Western Newspaper Union Building in the center of Kansas City. Miami-based Revitalization Unlimited is developing the project, while SOM has designed the building as a mixed-use structure that integrates critical digital infrastructure within a conventional urban skyline. The tower will organize computing equipment, cooling systems, and on-site power infrastructure vertically across 20 floors instead of spreading them across a large horizontal campus. That approach challenges the conventional development model that has dominated AI-era data center expansion across the United States.

“Unlike conventional data centers, which typically occupy large, horizontal footprints, 934 Central Street envisions a vertical data center for a dense downtown setting, closer to where people live and work,” said a spokesperson for SOM. “The proposal stacks data floors, power infrastructure, cooling systems, and public amenities within a 20-story tower on a compact 0.23-acre site, creating a vertical closed loop of power, water, and cooling.”

Architecture Designed to Blend Into the City

Rather than embracing the industrial appearance common among hyperscale facilities, SOM has designed the building to resemble neighboring commercial properties. The tower will feature an earth-toned masonry exterior, repetitive structural bays, and expansive glass sections, including areas housing computing infrastructure. An external service core frees additional interior floor space while supporting operational requirements without compromising the building’s urban presence.

The ground floor will dedicate approximately 4,700 square feet of retail space, giving the project an active street-level commercial component. SOM says this strategy allows the building to participate in everyday city life instead of becoming an isolated infrastructure asset. Meanwhile, the architectural language intentionally mirrors surrounding downtown structures to strengthen continuity across the neighborhood. “Designed to feel at home within its downtown context, the building draws from the vertical proportions, repetitive bays, and masonry character of surrounding commercial buildings,” said SOM.

Bringing Computing Infrastructure Closer to Demand

SOM argues that placing digital infrastructure inside urban centers creates operational advantages beyond land efficiency. Locating compute resources nearer to businesses, communications networks, and enterprise customers can reduce physical separation between infrastructure and demand. The proposal positions the building as part of the city’s economic fabric rather than an isolated industrial installation on its outskirts.

“As cities around the world become increasingly reliant on data centers, locating this infrastructure within urban areas offers both efficient proximity to the industries and networks it serves and an opportunity for these buildings to contribute positively to surrounding communities,” said the studio. The concept also reflects growing industry interest in distributing computing capacity closer to users as AI workloads continue expanding. Urban deployments may eventually complement large regional campuses by serving latency-sensitive applications while making better use of limited city land.

Designed for a Future Beyond Data Centers

One of the project’s most notable features is its long-term adaptability. Data centers often become highly specialized assets that are difficult to repurpose if technology requirements shift, leaving owners with expensive redevelopment challenges. SOM has attempted to address that concern by designing structural flexibility into the tower from the outset. “The tower is also configured to adapt over time, with a side core, regular structural grid, and generous floor-to-floor heights that support future conversion to residential, office, or mixed-use space as technological needs evolve,” said SOM. The side-core layout, regular structural grid, and generous floor heights create opportunities for future conversion into offices, residential units, or mixed-use developments if computing demand changes over time. Therefore, the proposal introduces a level of lifecycle planning that remains uncommon across purpose-built digital infrastructure.

Community Questions Remain

The proposal has not escaped local scrutiny despite its innovative design. Community members have reportedly questioned the speculative nature of the development and whether a high-rise data center represents the best long-term use of valuable downtown land. Others have raised concerns about potential urban heat island effects associated with concentrated computing infrastructure, reflecting broader debates surrounding the environmental impact of AI-driven expansion.

Those concerns mirror conversations taking place in cities worldwide as governments balance economic development, sustainability objectives, and increasing digital infrastructure requirements. While many discussions around AI facilities focus on power availability and water consumption, projects like 934 Central Street add another dimension by asking whether cities themselves should become the next frontier for compute capacity. The proposal does not simply introduce a new building typology. It tests whether future data centers can function as integrated pieces of urban infrastructure that combine resilience, commercial activity, and architectural compatibility while remaining adaptable to whatever comes after today’s AI boom.