The company behind a secretive West Miami-Dade data center project has been identified as Metrobloks, a California-based developer, after weeks of records requests and outreach by NBC6 Investigates.

A name surfaces weeks after the vote

The revelation came only after Miami-Dade County commissioners had already approved more than USD 3.6 million in incentives in December 2024 for the development, which public documents referred to solely as "Confidential Project Apollo."

According to the station's reporting, the application naming Metrobloks was provided by the county's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources after NBC6 contacted all Miami-Dade commissioners, the mayor's office, and the county attorney in an effort to confirm basic details of the agreement. The application lists Scott Couzen, identified on Metrobloks' website as chief operating officer, as the signatory.

On its website, the company refers to the project as MIA A1. Property records added further detail to the picture.

MB Sweetwater Site, an LLC, purchased the four parcels in March 2025 for USD 13.6 million, with Metrobloks named in the purchase agreement.

A separate county record describes Metrobloks as a "manager member" of the LLC. The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade's economic development organization, backed the application but told the station it could not "comment on or confirm details related to specific projects."

NBC6 also reached out to Metrobloks and its real estate agent with questions about the confidentiality of the arrangement, whether residents would be notified, and the revised completion timeline. As of its reporting, the station had not received a response.

What the incentive package covers

County records describe a 75,000-square-foot data center located in District 12, with projected completion in 2026.

The development is tied to a USD 150 million capital investment and is expected to create 27 jobs with average pay of USD 80,000.

The records also project nearly USD 6 million in property tax revenue over a 10-year period. The incentive package is conditional.

The county would issue the USD 3.6 million in incentives only if the project met its stated commitments. Descriptions found on Metrobloks' website indicate the property spans more than four acres and may require nearly 16 megawatts of continuous electricity to power servers, storage, and other information technology systems.

Confidentiality leaves neighbors guessing

The site sits off Northwest 137th Avenue, wedged between two storage facilities.

During a September visit, NBC6 observed fencing around the land, trucks parked along the west side, and two "for sale" signs displayed at the front of the property. Neither the incentive vote nor the public documents tied to it identified the company behind the proposal, leaving nearby residents without a public company name or clear notice about what could be built close to their homes.

Representatives at neighboring storage businesses told the station they had not heard about plans for a data center at the site. Madeline, a resident who lives east of Northwest 137th Avenue, said she can see the project from her backyard.

"I am not in agreement with it being built, but I don't know if my opinion counts," she told NBC6.

"I don't think it's going to look too good for us." Most of what is publicly known about the project has emerged through NBC6's reporting and records requests rather than direct outreach to the surrounding community.

Secrecy and data centers become a national flashpoint

The Miami-Dade arrangement is not an isolated case, according to the station's reporting, which links it to a broader pattern of disputes nationwide over data center approvals, confidentiality, and who ultimately pays the costs.

In Florida, regulators are weighing Duke's proposed data-center tariff and the question of whether households could subsidize new demand from the industry. In Columbia County, officials have moved closer to a Google data center while promoting the tax benefits it would bring.

Elsewhere, leaders in Piqua, Ohio, approved a 30-year power deal for Meta after the company pledged USD 8 million. In Wilmington, officials considered an emergency vote on a USD 4 billion AWS data center.

Taken together, these cases reflect mounting tension between economic development incentives pursued with limited public disclosure and the communities expected to live alongside the resulting facilities.

In Miami-Dade, the identity of the developer behind Confidential Project Apollo became public only through sustained inquiry, while the residents closest to the Northwest 137th Avenue site continue to piece together the plans for the land visible from their own backyards.