Manchester Group Considering 400-Megawatt Data Center as Part of Navy’s Redevelopment
By Andrew Bowen / KPBS / Oct. 16, 2026
Rep. Scott Peters on Friday said he is opposed to the concept of building a data center at the Navy’s NAVWAR campus in San Diego’s Midway District.
For more than two years, the Navy has been in talks with Manchester Financial Group and Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate on redeveloping the site, which sits on 70 acres between Pacific Highway and Interstate 5. It currently houses the Navy’s cybersecurity operations.
On Thursday, Voice of San Diego reported the development team was considering a 400-megawatt data center as part of the redevelopment.
Speaking at a press conference Friday, Peters said the site’s location near downtown, I-5 and the Old Town Transit Center make it an ideal location for housing and neighborhood-serving amenities. Peters is a Democrat whose 50th District includes NAVWAR.
“It should be a new community, a new mini downtown if you will, right next to the highway with access to transportation, where we can have housing,” Peters said. “A data center isn’t neighborhood serving. It’s not really something that belongs here. It belongs in a more remote, industrial place.”
The Navy intends to lease the land to the development team in exchange for a new office complex on a nearby site. That would mean the project would not require an appropriation from Congress, giving lawmakers little to no leverage over the project’s design. The site also does not need permits from the city of San Diego because it’s owned by the federal government.
Ted Eldredge, president and CEO of Manchester Financial Group, said the development team was considering a variety of uses including a data center, hotel, medical center, university campus, defense industry campus and life science facility.
“The development team had early, informational conversations with energy providers to understand what might be feasible, but there are no negotiations underway and no agreements in place,” Eldredge said in an email. “Regardless of the final design, it will be a mixed use development with homes as well as retail, commercial and industrial uses.”
San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said she had received briefings from Manchester Financial Group on the project, but that no one had ever suggested a data center might be included.
“They came to my office and showed me very glossy brochures, and they had PowerPoints over what the new community could look like,” said von Wilpert, who is currently running to represent the 48th Congressional District. “Why do all that, and then I find out in the press that this is not your plan. That’s not transparent. It’s not fair.”
The Navy is currently working on an updated environmental impact statement, which analyzes various options for the project. It is due to be released sometime in 2027.
Doug Manchester was the beneficiary of the Faulconer-Gloria corruption permeating 101 W. Ash Street. He shouldn’t be allowed near any public facility or transaction other than penal ones.
Thanks Robert for the laughter.
Should be entertaining seeing plans advance for a 250′ tall data center (no height limits now) full of lithium ion battery banks. It’s gotta be a tough one for our politicians as the money trough from Construction Unions slams into the money trough from all the Developers doing the nearby Midway Rising, Perry’s Cafe, & all the SB79 6 or 7 story hives of $2100 micro-studios without parking being planned. The bidding opens at ???
And it sure doesn’t belong in a remote area either. The batteries get hot, can cause fires and there is no water and no fire stations to fight the kind of fire it causes.
Peters talks. His job is to act.
BTW: a 400-megawatt (MW) data center is very large. It far exceeds typical hyperscale facilities and consumes power equivalent to about 300,000 homes
Surprised Palm Engineering Construction Co isn’t in the running for the contract. After all, they got the beautiful Mission Beach Lifeguard temp tower built on industrial scaffolding for $4M and the fence to surround Police Headquarters downtown, a sub-$1 million security project in ’24, for $3M today. ;)