Stonebridge Fort Meade / Project Cumulus

FJI source-qualified: four-document gate met, including project-specific government evidence. Qualification evidence and decisions →

Project status: Conditional development agreement and tax incentive documented; water and wider permit completion unverified. Capacity scope: County incentive application: 1,925,000 sq ft; Commerce letter: 4.4 million sq ft concept; scope differences unresolved; operating IT MW unknown. How we verify evidence.

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Phase-specific evidence; approximate locality pin. Reviewed October 8, 2026.

The investment takeaway

Our analysis: Fort Meade fills a central-Florida hyperscale development gap, but the investable story is conditional infrastructure access rather than current computing income. A tax award and development agreement provide planning context; they do not resolve the state’s resource concerns.

Campus identity and scope

This entry tracks Stonebridge / Cumulus once. DCD links Stonebridge and Fort Meade DC LLC; the county incentive names that LLC. The Commerce letter names Florida Ecopark LLC for the same Stonebridge development agreement, but the precise corporate relationship is not established. The 1,300-acre land envelope is not all data-hall area. The county’s 1.925-million-square-foot application and the letter’s 4.4-million-square-foot concept differ; no single consolidated capacity is asserted.

Power and water

Commerce’s April letter says the energy delivery plan was not conveyed and water permission remained a condition. WUSF reports the developer revised its water estimate. These disputed estimates are not measured demand. We did not establish a later issued consumptive-use permit, utility service agreement, generation commitment or energization; the profile remains proposed.

Milestones and government conditions

Polk File 25-1989 records an approved incentive on November 4, 2025, with continuing performance, review and expiry requirements. The April 14, 2026 development agreement is described in an original Commerce letter as conditional on SWFWMD permission and additional permits. Neither record authorizes all construction or certifies operation.

Company roles and demand

Stonebridge is the reported developer; Fort Meade DC LLC is the incentive applicant, and Florida Ecopark LLC is the agreement entity named by Commerce. The city is a land-use and water infrastructure counterparty. No hyperscaler tenant, GPU supplier award, lender, operator contract or verified listed-company exposure is assigned.

Risks and what would change the assessment

Water availability, energy cost allocation, transport mitigation, customer identification and community resistance are material. September FOX reporting records a disputed recall-related lawsuit; it is not proof of wrongdoing or a project injunction. Issued project-specific permits, an identified operator and executed utility/customer agreements would strengthen the case. A denial, withdrawal or financing failure would weaken it.

Financial significance

The county applicant planned $1.2 billion in real improvements plus $1.64 billion of equipment; those figures are not a financing commitment or incurred capex. The incentive grants a 90% exemption for ten years subject to performance and review. Our analysis: the tax benefit can improve prospective development economics, but only if the operator, water, power, permits, capital and customer demand become executable. No public-stock earnings contribution or closed funding structure is established.

Sources and claim verification

Distinct project-specific documents; repeated releases count once. Company claims remain attributed and do not independently establish delivery.

1. Polk County Board of County Commissioners · 2025-10-21

   File 25-1989 records approval on November 4, 2025 of a 90% ten-year ad valorem exemption and performance agreement for Fort Meade DC LLC. The applicant planned $1.2 billion of real improvements and $1.64 billion of equipment for 1,925,000 square feet. These are plans, not incurred spending or financing close.

   Government record →
2. Florida Department of Commerce · 2026-04-15

   Original agency letter, publicly hosted by WUSF, describes the April 14 development agreement with Florida Ecopark LLC for Project Stonebridge as conditional on a SWFWMD consumptive-use permit. It cites a 4.4-million-square-foot concept, undisclosed operator, and outstanding energy, water, environmental and transport questions. It is agency scrutiny, not a permit or cancellation.

   Government record →
3. DatacenterDynamics · 2026-04-21

   Specialist reporting links Stonebridge to Fort Meade DC LLC and the roughly 1,300-acre campus, and describes the conditional development agreement. Its 47.36-million-square-foot figure conflicts with the agency letter and is excluded from our adopted scope.

   Independent specialist reporting →
4. WUSF / Kerry Sheridan · 2026-04-20

   Original local reporting documents the Commerce secretary’s objections, changing developer water estimates and the need for SWFWMD review. Reported water demand is a disputed projection, not a verified withdrawal or actual cooling consumption.

   Independent local reporting →
5. FOX 13 Tampa Bay · 2026-09-10

   Reports a commissioner’s lawsuit to block a project-related recall effort. Allegations are disputed and no court outcome is established. This documents continuing community/legal risk, not a construction-permit decision.

   Independent local reporting →