A possible data center at the former Cederna cotton mill in Milan’s Gratosoglio district is now at the center of a bigger fight over how Lombardy will regulate one of the fastest-growing real-estate and power-hungry sectors in the region.
Lombardy reviews new data center rules
The project is still only a negotiation between the site owner, Tmr, and a British fund focused on digital-economy properties, but even that prospect has drawn political resistance because the plant would sit in the middle of an older residential neighborhood. That location matters economically: data centers bring high capital spending, heavy electricity demand and, in some cases, significant water use, while also competing for scarce urban land.
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Milano and its metropolitan area already host 33 data centers, underlining how quickly the market has expanded around Italy’s main corporate and financial hub. The concentration has turned local approvals into a broader policy issue, with regional lawmakers due in mid-November to revisit changes to Lombardy’s law governing new data centers.
The regional government’s draft amendments aim to curb speculation, protect farmland and improve sustainability. One proposed change would require Terna to have already ruled on grid connection feasibility before a permit application can even begin, closing a loophole that has allowed developers to queue projects without securing power. Another would slow approvals for projects on agricultural land after the region already raised construction contributions in June, while new cooling systems would need to use closed-loop or otherwise highly water-efficient designs.
For investors, that means the economics of data-center development in Lombardy are becoming less about simply finding space and more about securing power, permits and community acceptance. The shift favors operators and owners able to navigate regulation and utility constraints, while raising execution risk for speculative land buyers and developers betting on fast conversion of urban or semi-urban sites.
The debate also matters beyond Milan. Big data-center names such as Equinix, Digital Realty and American Tower have been expanding capacity globally as cloud and AI demand drive leasing and redevelopment plans, but their latest filings also show the sector is running into tighter rules, power bottlenecks and higher capex requirements. In that environment, Lombardy’s new framework could determine whether projects like Gratosoglio move ahead quickly, get redesigned or stall altogether.
| Entity | Gains | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Lombardy regulators | ▲More control over siting | ▼Less freewheeling expansion |
| Grid-ready developers | ▲Faster permit path | ▼Speculative land buyers |
| Tmr and partner fund | ▲Asset monetization upside | ▼Approval and zoning risk |
| Residents and municipality | ▲More scrutiny, less disruption | ▼Fewer redevelopment options |
