Another data center could be coming to the east side of Indianapolis.
Georgia-based developer DC Blox is looking to build a $2 billion data center campus at the corner of South Kitley Avenue and the Pennsy Trail.
Here is what we know.
Who is DC Blox?
DC Blox is a Georgia-based company that was founded in 2014. The company has developed six data centers now operating in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama.
Upcoming meeting
Public hearing
The Metropolitan Development Commission will consider the DC Blox variance of use petition.
🗓️ 1 p.m. May 14
📍 City-County Building, 200 E Washington St.
What is being proposed?
DC Blox officials say the project will consist of three buildings built in two phases.
The first phase would be the construction of a one-story, 80,000-square-foot building that will house a data center. The company expects construction to start once the project is approved and last around two years. In the second phase, DC Blox would build a two-story, 140,000-square-foot building and a two-story, 190,000-square-foot building. DC Blox said construction of the phase two buildings would begin in two years and take about four years to complete.
The company said the project could generate up to 600 temporary jobs during construction and 35 permanent, high-wage jobs once the project is completed.
About the property
The data center campus would be built at the site of a former Ford factory that shut down in 2007. The site has since turned into the Thunderbird Commerce Center, a 150-acre industrial park. Current tenants include a beverage production company and a dental technology company.
The site sits southwest of the intersection of Washington Street and Shadeland Avenue, near Irvington Community Elementary School.
What about water usage and utility costs?
Bill Thomson, the vice president of marketing and product management for DC Blox, said the project will use a closed loop water system.
“Rather than continuously pulling from utility water, we’ll fill up our water system one time from the utility, and then we continue to recirculate the water within the system,” Thomson said.
Thomson also said DC Blox is committed to paying for the costs associated with building a new substation for the project and other energy infrastructure needed to power the site.
Will there be opportunity for public comment?
The property is already zoned for heavy industrial use. But because data centers in Indianapolis do not fall under a specific zoning classification, DC Blox filed a variance of use petition with the Metropolitan Development Commission that would allow it to operate one.
Because the developer is not seeking a full rezoning of the property, the project will not need approval from the City-County Council.
The public hearing on the variance is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 14 at the City-County Building.
More information about the project, including a plan of operation and a statement of commitment documents, can be found online.
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Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian or on Bluesky @darianbenson.bsky.social.
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