MIAMI, FL — Questions are growing in West Miami-Dade over a planned data center that county records once identified only as “Confidential Project Apollo.” Miami-Dade commissioners approved incentives for the project in December 2024, but the company behind it was not immediately named in the public materials that accompanied the vote.
Weeks of requests to county agencies and local officials eventually led to a key filing that identified Metrobloks, a California-based company, as the applicant. The project is described as a 75,000-square-foot data center in District 12, with promises of 27 jobs, a projected average salary of $80,000 and a $150 million capital investment.
The county said the project could generate nearly $6 million in property tax revenue over 10 years if the commitments are met, while the incentive package could top $3.6 million.
County incentives were approved before the developer was publicly clear
Miami-Dade County records show the incentives were approved after a memo from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava outlined the basic scope of the proposal. The memo said the project would be built in District 12 by 2026, but the public documents available at the time left out one of the most basic details: who was actually behind it.
The Beacon Council, the county’s economic development organization, supported the application for county incentives, according to the records. But when asked about the project, the group said it could not facilitate an interview or comment on specific projects, and suggested county officials would be better positioned to explain the agreement and any related filings.
District 12 Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, who sponsored the resolution that went before the commission, said his office had not received an update as of December 2024.
A county filing finally named Metrobloks as the applicant
After weeks of trying to pin down the company, NBC6 received an application from Miami-Dade’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources that filled in the missing blank. The filing lists Metrobloks and is signed by Scott Couzen, who company website materials identify as its chief operating officer.
That document tied the project to the company directly, even though earlier county references used only the confidential label. The disclosure gave a clearer picture of who was seeking the county incentive package and who would be responsible for building the data center.
NBC6 also reached out to every Miami-Dade commissioner, the mayor’s office and the county attorney, but did not receive additional clarification before the filing surfaced.
Metrobloks markets the site as MIA A1 on its own website
The company’s website lists the Miami project under a different name: MIA A1. Metrobloks says the site covers more than four acres and can draw close to 16 megawatts of continuous power to support servers, storage equipment and other information technology systems.
The proposed facility is located between two storage centers off Northwest 137th Avenue. Renderings on the company’s site show what the building is expected to look like, and Metrobloks says construction is set to begin this year.
That timeline, however, did not line up neatly with what reporters saw on the ground in September. The property was fenced off, cargo trucks were parked on the west side and two “for sale” signs stood out front.
Neighbors and nearby businesses say they had not heard about the plan
When NBC6 visited the site, representatives at the storage facilities on either side said they had not heard that a data center was being built there. They also said they had not seen construction begin on the property.
Nearby residents expressed similar surprise. Madeline, who lives east of Northwest 137th Avenue and would be able to see the project from her backyard, said she had not received notice about the proposed development.
“I don’t think it’s going to look too good for us,” she said. “I am not in agreement with it being built, but I don’t know if my opinion counts.” Her comments reflect a broader concern among residents trying to understand what will rise in their neighborhood.
Property records show a March sale for 13.6 million dollars
County property and business records show the four parcels tied to the project sold in March 2025 for $13.6 million. The buyer was an LLC called MB Sweetwater Site, and a Denver-based company was listed as the seller.
Those records also reference Metrobloks in the purchase agreement, and another county filing identifies the company as a “manager member” of the LLC. Together, the documents connect the land purchase to the same firm tied to the confidential project application.
NBC6 tried to contact Metrobloks, the developer and a real estate agent representing them to ask about the confidentiality of the project, whether residents would be notified and when completion is now expected. No response had been received by the time of publication.
