Detailed Timeline of Project Blue
2022
Project Blue leaders and City of Tucson staff sign first non-disclosure agreements.
“Ward 4 council member, Nikki Lee, said an agreement was signed by Barbra Coffee, the director of Economic Initiatives for Tucson. ‘I was told that one was signed on behalf of the City of Tucson and that it applied across the organization,’ said Lee, whose ward would house the proposed data center.”
Lane Mandle, a spokesperson for the city of Tucson, said signing NDAs is part of Coffee’s role at the city, and how the agreement around Project Blue was dealt with is “standard practice in connection with City economic development project proposals.'”
AZ Luminaria
March 2023
Tucson Mayor, Regina Romero is made aware of Project Blue.
“Romero said [in August 2025] that while she met with leaders of Project Blue in 2023 to tout the city and region, she did not know the project was a data center or that it would be run by Amazon. She said the economic initiative teams in both the county and the city could have given ‘more information in terms of data centers and the lessons learned from Valley cities. … I wish by now we could have been much more prepared.'”
AZ Luminaria
March 1, 2023
Pima County Procurement Director, Terri Spencer, signs non-disclosure agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Project Blue.
March 27, 2023
David Goldstein, CEO of land developer Diamond Venturers, emails Deputy Pima County Administrator, Carmine DeBonis:
“… really need a few minutes of your time for a call to discuss a very large economic development deal with you. The employer is looking to purchase some of our land located in the County. Do you have a few minutes today?”
“Project Blue wants to purchase 1200 acres from us at our Verano property (south Wilmot). They have given me permission to do due diligence with respect to entitlements, annexation, water, etc. I am meeting with Regina and Mike tomorrow. A lot of pieces to the puzzle have to come together to make it work.”
(source: county emails released as public records)
Pima County Economic Development Director, Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, meets with representative(s) from Diamond Ventures.
March 28, 2023
Carmine DeBonis emails Heath Vescovi-Chiordi: “Do you know details on Project Blue?”
Heath Vescovi-Chiordi sends Project Blue profile to Carmine DeBonis and Pima County Administrator, Jan Lesher, advising them that the County has entered an NDA, that Project Blue has been in touch with the County wastewater department, and that he will be following up with Sun Corridor later that week.
David Goldstein and Carmine DeBonis discuss Verano as a possible site for Project Blue. DeBonis writes that Goldstein:
“was interested in whether PC had any concerns, particularly since securing water service to the property may necessitate annexation to the City. I indicated that the project would be significantly beneficial to the region and PC did not have concern.”
(source: county emails released as public records)
March 26 -29, 2024
Five leaders of Diamond Ventures donate a combined $4,250 to Pima County Supervisor, Dr. Matt Heinz.
April 18, 2024
Members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors attend a Sun Corridor, Inc. Site Selector Panel at the Fox Tucson Theater from 5–7 pm.
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) “joined other local leaders in hosting a tour for prominent site selectors, who visited notable sites and led a panel discussion. The mid-April visit was organized by Sun Corridor Inc., a regional economic development organization that aims to drive business investments.”
“Matt Miller, TEP’s Principal of Economic Development … joined other TEP colleagues in leading a tour at TEP’s Wilmot Energy Center, which includes 100 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity and 30 MW of battery storage in southeast Tucson. The center supports TEP’s plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
TEP: Promoting Tucson Region for Business Growth
April 22, 2024
Pima County Supervisor, Steve Christy, receives $2500 worth of donations from:
- Diamond Ventures Principal, Helene Levy: $250
- Diamond Ventures VP, Priscilla Storm: $750
- Diamond Ventures VP, Mark Weinberg: $500
- Southwest Gas: $1000
April 25, 2024
Tucson City Council meets and votes 6-0 (Ward 6 seat vacant) to amend zoning plan.
“This plan amendment is intended to facilitate development opportunities and establish floodplain and riparian policies for all State Trust Land within RITA 10 to attract large-scale manufacturing, industrial and logistics users while supporting diverse housing options and commercial uses.”
Mayor and Council Communication
June 3, 2024
Humphrey’s Peak Properties LLC incorporates in Delaware, backed by IPI III Developments LLC (300 N LaSalle St Ste 1500, CHICAGO, IL, 60654), whose CFO, James Thurston, is an Indianapolis-based financial consultant.
June 5, 2024
Byron Bridges of CBRE sends proposal for Appraisal Report on Project Blue land to Jeff Teplitsky, Director of Pima County Real Property Services.
June 21, 2024
CBRE sends Appraisal Report on Project Blue land to Pima County Real Property Services.
June 24, 2024
County enters another non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for Project Blue.
August 30, 2024
Beale Infrastructure Group, LLC, officially establishes as Delaware corporation, with mailing address of 50 Beale Street Suite 2300, San Francisco, CA 94105.
September 16, 2024
Diamond Ventures President, David Goldstein, donates $1000 to Supervisor Steve Christy.
September 22, 2024
Diamond Ventures Chief Financial Officer, Bill Kelley, donates $500 to Supervisor Steve Christy.
September 26, 2024
County enters a Right of Entry (ROE) agreement with Project Blue, allowing for access to the site in coordination with Pima County, and a right of exclusivity for Project Blue to the site.
October 2, 2024
Members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors attend a candidate luncheon hosted by TEP at their Irvington campus.
Public notice not given until half an hour after the event starts.
October 9, 2024
Members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors attend the Sun Corridor Inc. 2024 Annual Luncheon and 20th Anniversary Celebration at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.
October 29, 2024
Chad W Huber at Kimley Horn completes ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey for the site as part of the Southeast Employment and Logistics Center (SELC) Specific Plan.
November 2024
November 7, 2024
Kimley Horn sends Nitin Sathe, VP of IPI Partners, a Biological Resources Memorandum for the Project Blue site, stating that:
“IPI Partners, LLC is proposing a campus style industrial project (Bobcat) located along Houghton Road, north of Brekke Road, and east of Harrison Road in Pima County, Arizona. The 288.5-acre site consists of Pima County owned land.”
January 16, 2025
Richard A. Sarti, New Development Administrator for Tucson Water, informs Robin Large, Senior Land Use Planner at Lazarus & Silvyn, lawyers for Project Blue, that water service cannot be provided to the Project Blue land parcel until annexation is approved by Mayor and Council.
The creation of Beale Infrastructure is announced on LinkedIn.
February 18, 2025
Diamond Ventures CFO, Bill Kelley, congratulates Pima County Economic Development Director, Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, on an award and writes:
“Way to go! Lets discuss the opportunity you told me about for Verano!”
February 20, 2025
Heath Vescovi-Chiordi sends Notification of Impending Economic Development Business Attraction and draft Term Sheet for Project Blue to County Administrator, Jan Lesher.
Indicates county rezoning and city annexation are both project requirements.
February 24, 2025
Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher forwards Notification of Impending Economic Development Business Attraction and draft Term Sheet for Project Blue to Board of Supervisors and directors of Pima County departments.
March 4, 2025
Mayor Regina Romero’s office sends an email to Andrés Cano, City of Tucson Director of State & Federal Relations, to schedule a discussion about Project Blue.
March 19, 2025
Daniel Iwicki at Kimley Horn sends SELC Phase 1 Specific Plan Preliminary Traffic Assessment to Pima County.
March 20, 2025
“Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given that three or more members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors may attend the following: Leadership Meeting with Pima County and Southwest Gas, Monday, March 31, 2025 at 10:30 a.m., Pima County Historic Courthouse, Copper Conference Room. … No official County business will be conducted.”
NOTICE OF THE PIMA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
March 25, 2025
TEP writes:
“This year, local economic development officials are fielding inquiries from a number of data center developers that are seeking property and energy for their large businesses.
‘While the workforce availability has traditionally been the No. 1 key driver for a business to locate somewhere, right now it’s access to power,’ said Daniela Gallagher, Vice President of Economic Development for Sun Corridor. ‘TEP will continue to play an important role in attracting these and other businesses, given the current needs.'”
TEP: Economic Development Outreach Expanded Businesses in 2024
March 31, 2025
Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair, Adelita Grijalva, announces that she will resign on April 4 to run for Congress.
April 15, 2025
Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission agenda for April 30, 2025 meeting is published, including comprehensive plan amendment and specific plan rezoning for the Southeast Employment and Logistics Center (SELC) Specific Plan.
Andrés Cano, City of Tucson Director of State & Federal Relations, is appointed by the Board of Supervisors to represent Pima County District 5, following Adelita Grijalva’s April 4th resignation.
April 17, 2025
Virtual “neighborhood meeting” is held on Microsoft Teams for the proposed Specific Plan and Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Project Blue.
This meeting was attended by only four people:
- Pima County Director of Economic Development Heath S. Vescovi-Chiordi
- Deputy County Administrator Carmine DeBonis, Keri Silvyn
- A representative of the Arizona State Land Department who asked a single question about traffic signal work.
“Late April – Early May” 2025
City Manager, Tim Thomure, begins engaging in negotiations with the Project Blue team.
Mayor holds first meeting with Beale Infrastructure, according to City Manager, Tim Thomure.
May 8, 2025
Jan Lesher, Pima County Administrator, sends an update on Project Blue and the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting results to the Board of Supervisors, and states that:
“staff anticipate bringing the Specific Plan and a sales-purchase agreement to the Board of Supervisors for consideration in June or July.”
May 13, 2025
Keri Silvyn emails Charlene Mendoza, Chief of Staff to Regina Romero, and Theresa Smith, Chief of Staff to Ward 4 Councilwoman Nikki Lee, writing:
“The Project Blue folks are going to be in town next week on May 21 and 22nd. We have meetings scheduled with County folks starting at 10:30 both of those days. I wanted to see if we could get a meeting with Mayor and Nikki Lee possibly one of those mornings to update you all.”
Mayor Romero suggests a joint meeting.
May 15, 2025
Qatar announces plans to invest billions into US data centers.
Blue Owl Capital closes its Digital Infrastructure Fund III funding round with $7 billion.
“Commitments to ODI III were secured from a broad mix of existing and new institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, endowments and foundations, and family offices in the United States and across Europe, APAC, and the Middle East.”
Blue Owl Press Release
May 16, 2025
Arnaud Dusser, Development Director for Beale Infrastructure, emails Susan Dumon, Chamber of Southern Arizona Chief Economic Development Officer:
“Our team will be in Tucson next week. We’re planning on having lunch on Tuesday with Mike, Heath and Keri, as well as Emily. If you’re free, we’d love to have you join us!”
May 18, 2025
Susan Dumon, Chamber of Southern Arizona Chief Economic Development Officer, sends Project Blue economic impact analysis to Pima County.
May 20, 2025
Project Blue planners have lunch in downtown Tucson before meeting in the 2nd floor conference room at City Hall.
Attendees from Beale Infrastructure include:
- Chief Development Officer, Michael Nudelman
- Water Director, Christina Casler
- Development Associate, Emily Menz
- Development VP, Logan Craig
- and Development Director, Arnaud Dusser
Other attendees include:
- Amazon Web Services Economic Development Manager, Emily Smith
- Chamber of Southern Arizona Chief Economic Development Officer, Susan Dumon
- Pima County Economic Development Director, Heath Vescovi-Chiordi
- Annexation Senior Project Manager for the City of Tucson, Mike Czechowski
- Lawyer for Project Blue and Local Zoning Expert, Keri Silvyn
Source: Public Records Request #7148
May 20–22, 2025
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero visits Qatar Economic Forum, supported by Visit Tucson, the Chamber of Southern Arizona, and the city’s economic initiatives department.
May 21, 2025
Pima County Administrator, Jan Lesher, sends memo “Update on Project Blue Including Economic Impact Highlights and Anticipated Upcoming Activities” to Pima County Board of Supervisors.
“Since the May 8 Memorandum, progress has continued to advance, and a draft version of the EIA and an accompanying EIA Summary has been generated through Sun Corridor, Inc. These documents remain subject to a Non-disclosure Agreement between Pima County and the business prospect.”
Memo Update on Project Blue Including Economic Impact Highlights and Anticipated Upcoming Activities”
May 21–22, 2025
Pima County staff and Project Blue representatives hold one-on-one meetings with Districts 1–5 Supervisors and Staff.
May 29, 2025
The Arizona Daily Star reports:
“A new industrial center in the works for Tucson’s southeast side would host at least one data center, while a second effort nearby would bring a hypersonic missile company.”
‘”The County met with the construction company and the lending company last week” [Supervisor] Christy said.’
June 9, 2025
The Arizona Daily Star reports that the Pima County Board of Supervisors plans to vote on a “secretive data centers plan in southeast Tucson”
“The plan was drawn up in April by county staff, the law office of Keri Silvyn, who represents the prospective land buyer, and Kimley Horn, a national planning and design consulting firm with Tucson offices. Silvyn hasn’t returned two calls from the Star seeking information or her comments on the project.”
Arizona Daily Star
June 12, 2025
The Arizona Daily Star reports “Massive data center complex endorsed by Pima County Officials”.
“County Administrator Jan Lesher has, for the first time, identified the site developer and prospective land purchaser as Beale Infrastructure and Humphrey’s Peak Properties, LLC, of San Francisco.”
Arizona Daily Star
June 17, 2025
Around 2 p.m.
Pima County Board of Supervisors votes 3–2 to approve rezoning and land sale for Project Blue, with Supervisors Rex Scott, Matt Heinz, and Steve Christy in favor.
At 3:30 p.m.
TEP files a request with the Arizona Corporation Commission for a 14% rate increase.
July 21, 2025
Amazon Web Services named as planned user of Project Blue in 2023 memo leaked to Arizona Luminaria by County Administrator Jan Lesher.
July 23, 2025
Public meeting on Project blue held 5–7 pm at Mica Mountain High School, at the request of Ward 4 Councilwoman, Nikki Lee.
August 4, 2025
Pima County spokesperson Mark Evans tells Arizona Luminaria in an email that:
“At the request of the Board, the County’s process for entering into an NDA is under review.”
Mark Evans, Pima County Spokesperson
County Supervisor, Matt Heinz, tells Arizona Luminaria that he was bound by an NDA that he didn’t even know existed. Questioning the legality of that situation, he said clarification might need to come from the courts:
“Someone has to decide if local officials can be bound by an NDA they didn’t sign.”
Matt Heinz, County Supervisor
Vivek Bharathan, a community member and organizer with No Desert Data Center tells Arizona Luminaria:
“We’ve heard repeatedly through this process, both at the county and city level, that these NDAs are normal for these kinds of land deals. Just because they’re precedented doesn’t mean they’re right for us or any other community. Community members like us who oppose the harm these agreements bring are left to perform the unpaid labor of organizing against them, while the people who are paid to represent us are engaged in, and trust, a process that’s engineered to betray us.
Vivek Bharathan, Organizer with the No Desert Data Center Coalition
Councilwoman Nikki Lee meets with representatives of Beale Infrastructure, who tell her that “they have a short list of other sites they’ve identified … their alternative sites in our backyard.”
Third public meeting on Project Blue held 5–7 pm at the Tucson Convention Center. Over 1000 people attend, the majority expressing opposition to Project Blue.
“Crowd members’ angry outbursts of boos, jeers and heckling repeatedly drowned out talks by officials … When individuals got their chance to stand at a microphone and speak out, their comments generally came across as heartfelt, sad, fearful, and brimming with anger.”
Tucson.com Article
August 5, 2025
Ward 4 Councilwoman Nikki Lee writes that Project Blue has more site options:
“The reality is this: Project Blue will be built in the Tucson metropolitan area, regardless of what the City of Tucson decides.“
Nikki Lee, Ward 4 Councilwoman
August 6, 2025
Mayor and Council unanimously vote to end Project Blue during study session.
August 15, 2025
Arizona Luminaria obtains county document listing three other possible locations for Project Blue:
- South of Ryan Airfield, on land owned by SBH Sendero LP
- South of the state and federal prisons, on land owned by South Wilmot Land Investors LLC, a subsidiary of Diamond Ventures
- Just east of the fairgrounds on state trust land
August 26, 2025
“Beale Infrastructure confirms to Arizona Luminaria that the company remains committed to building on the land purchased from Pima County in June”
Arizona Luminaria
September 2, 2025
In executive session, the Board of Supervisors discuss the status of the still-pending land sale to Beale-owned Humphrey’s Peak Properties with County Attorney, Laura Conover.
September 11, 2025
Pima County Administrator, Jan Lesher, meets with Project Blue developers.
September 16, 2025
Pima County Board of Supervisors continues discussing the Project Blue contract in executive session.
Pima County Supervisor, Jennifer Allen, says that Beale Infrastructure representatives have been in town the last few days, meeting with some supervisors, and that Beale Infrastructure plans to make an announcement the next day.
September 17, 2025
Beale Infrastructure announces they are attempting to move forward with a new version of Project Blue on the same county land.
September 19, 2025
County Administrator Jan Lesher says that the county is still in its due diligence period with Beale and hopes to secure concessions.
“In her view, there needs to be a clear benefit to the community if Amazon’s massive data centers are going to be built in Tucson.”
Buckmaster Show
She says it is possible that the new version of Project Blue will use more power now that it cannot access reclaimed water for evaporative cooling, but that Beale has not yet provided this information.
Pima County is “trying to delineate” what benefits the project will provide to the community, such as workforce development funding, and determine the timeline of the new project
September 22, 2025
“I met with Beale on Wednesday [September 17] to learn about the new plan. As I understand it, their end goal of developing data center campuses on three different sites in Pima County remains. The first of which is the county parcel near the fairgrounds, and the other two locations have yet to be specified. We were previously told that phase one of this project would comprise four buildings, moving up to ten at full buildout on the first site, with sixteen data centers planned for the second site. Under this new plan, those numbers are out the window, and we have no idea how many data centers they intend to build across the three locations.”
Jennifer Allen, Pima County Supervisor
October 1, 2025
Pima County NDA publicly confirms Amazon is behind Project Blue.
October 14, 2025
No Desert Data Center Coalition members and allies attend Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting to ask the supervisors to not close the land sale with Beale Infrastructure and Humphrey’s Peak Properties.
October 21, 2025
No Desert Data Center Coalition members and allies pack Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, demanding that the supervisors not close the land sale.
November 4, 2025
Trade union members attend Board of Supervisors meeting to express support for Project Blue and the thousands of construction jobs it could create in Tucson.
No Desert Data Center Coalition members attend to express opposition to Project Blue, its environmental impacts, and the higher energy bills it could cause.
Pima County Board of Supervisors again discusses legal issues around Project Blue in a closed executive session, but takes no action following the discussion.
November 6, 2025
Project Blue developers say they are “committing to match 100%” of their project’s complex’s energy use with renewable energy.
County Administrator, Jan Lesher, clarifies that:
“While Beale states in their letter that details will be captured in a future agreement instrument, at this time there is no specificity on how the Beale commitments would be incorporated into an appropriate form of enforceable agreement to ensure future compliance.”
November 10, 2025
Humphrey’s Peak Properties, a subsidiary of Beale Infrastructure, sends closure notice for land sale to Pima County Real Property Services, Pima County Economic Development, and the County Attorney’s office.
November 13, 2025
Kimley Horn applies for permit for “Public right-of-way improvements, right hand turn lane” at 11295 S. Harrison Road, the Clay Target Center at the Project Blue site.
November 24, 2025
Kimley Horn applies for a permit for “Construction of security entrances, operations center, warehouse, data center and required grading/drainage/paving improvements at 11000 S Houghton and 11295 S Harrison (both within the Project Blue site).
December 3, 2025
Arizona Corporation Commission votes 4–1 to approve energy service agreement between TEP and Beale Infrastructure.
December 16, 2025
Pima County Board of Supervisors votes 3–2 to approve a memorandum of agreement with Beale Infrastructure’s Humphrey’s Peak Properties, requiring Beale to make “commercially reasonable efforts to match one hundred percent (100%) of its energy consumption with renewable energy” and pay up to $15 million for community benefits that could include donations to Pima Community College technical education programs.
Supervisor Cano calls this agreement “a press release with an exit door”.
December 24, 2025
January 14, 2026
No Desert Data Center Coalition sues Pima County and the Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission for violating open meetings law by deliberately deceiving the public about approvals needed for Project Blue.