Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles about data centers and their impact.
Data center proposals have popped up across Indiana in recent years, including in Indianapolis.
Mirror Indy spoke to a few researchers and data center developers to find out why companies are interested in building in the city.
A 2019 law made Indiana attractive
In 2019, Indiana lawmakers passed legislation that incentivizes data center companies to come to Indiana. The law allows data center companies to forgo paying some taxes on energy and equipment purchases for up to 50 years.
Local governments are also allowed to give companies property tax exemptions. That means data centers can save thousands of dollars they would otherwise pay in taxes.
Indianapolis has fiber optic cables
When you use the internet to send an email or stream a movie, information travels across a global network to your device.
Fiber optic cables are thin strands of plastic or glass that send data using light signals. Fiber optic cables function like a highway to connect to internet exchange points. These exchange points act as a transit center where the cables intersect. The closer to an exchange point, the faster data can travel.
Central Indiana is home to a prominent exchange point for the Midwest, which means data housed in Indianapolis can be quickly shared to places across the region. And many of the fiber optic cables in the city are buried underground, which protects them from weather and physical damage.
The crossroads of the internet
The city’s location is attractive to data center developers. Indiana’s official motto is “Crossroads of America” and it’s true for the technology world, too.
Indianapolis is in close proximity to other major Midwest cities such as Chicago. And because of the fiber network exchange point in Indianapolis, the city can operate as the crossroads of the internet — a central hub for information to quickly be shared across the Midwest.
Indianapolis is also at low risk of natural disasters and has a cooler climate. That means developers don’t have to worry about events like a hurricane disrupting service.
Indianapolis has open land, favorable zoning
Indiana has a lot of undeveloped or vacant land that is less expensive than other parts of the country. And in cases like the site of the proposed data center in Martindale Brightwood, some vacant lots already have industrial zoning. That makes it easier for companies to get approved for zoning exception requests.
Indy Documenters often cover meetings about data centers. 📝 Read their notes.
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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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