Around 200 residents went downtown to pressure the City-County Council into holding an additional public hearing for a proposed Google data center.
Honesty Gleaves, who lives in Lawrence, joined the crowded council meeting on Monday, Sept. 8, because the proposed development on the southeast side of Marion County could have an impact on more than just southsiders.
“This data center affects all of us, especially the price hikes that are coming from AES, which are going to be used to fund the data center,” Gleaves said.
While AES Indiana insists that its current pursuit of a price hike has nothing to do with the proposed data center, many residents remain unconvinced, or are concerned that rates could jump even more. And they say they are also concerned about the potential for water contamination and the millions in tax incentives offered to Google. More than 7,000 residents have also signed an online petition.
Upcoming meeting
Public hearing
Representatives from Google and Protect Franklin Township will present about the proposed data center, then councilors will vote.
🗓️ 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22
📍 City-County Building, 200 E Washington St.
Those residents were delivered a win at the council meeting. Councilors unanimously voted to require public presentations from Google and Protect Franklin Township, a group of community members who oppose the $1 billion development.
That meeting, set for Monday, Sept. 22, will be the final step before councilors decide whether to rezone 468 acres of farmland near Post Road and Troy Avenue. The rezoning would pave the way for Google to build a data center, which is a collection of buildings filled with computer servers that would predominately support developments in artificial intelligence.
Joseph Calderon is an Indianapolis-based lawyer who represents Deep Meadow Ventures, a company secretly created by Google. He walked out of the meeting immediately after the vote, telling Mirror Indy that he wasn’t surprised that councilors wanted to discuss the proposal further.
But he had little to say when asked if he’s concerned about the fate of the project.
“I’m just gonna let the process play out,” Calderon said.
Could residents reach an agreement with Google?
Before the public hearing and final vote on Monday, Sept. 22, two representatives for Deep Meadow Ventures and Protect Franklin Township will have the opportunity to meet with the City-County Council’s attorney, LeAnnette Pierce, to find a mutual agreement.
Brittany York, a leader of Protect Franklin Township, is already skeptical. She referenced the company’s decision to create Deep Meadow Ventures to initially shield the developer from public scrutiny.
York has also scrutinized Google’s refusal to implement additional protections to protect residents from potential environmental contamination.
“I am still willing to play ball, I’m still willing to go out there with them and try to get them to make a real, good-faith effort to make this workable,” York said. “But I don’t have much faith that they are going to be willing to take the steps that they would need to so that this is not detrimental to our community.”
Calderon told Mirror Indy that he looks forward to the negotiation, which he believes will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Which side is your councilor on?
So far, 17 of Indianapolis’ 25 councilors — including all six Republicans — have united in a bipartisan effort to oppose the project.
That’s enough to kill the project. But at least one councilor believes the Google data center is a sure thing.
“At the end of the day, when all the parties get to the table with our council attorney, a compromise is going to be made and Google will be built,” Democrat Ron Gibson told Mirror Indy.
Gibson is the first councilor to publicly support the data center. He said he believes the development could boost the city’s economic development. The project would create roughly 50 jobs with minimum salaries around $100,000, according to documents from the Metropolitan Development Commission, which recommended the project for approval last month.
Some councilors want to wait until Sept. 22 before they make a final decision, or haven’t responded to Mirror Indy’s requests for comment:
- Council President Vop Osili
- Majority Leader Maggie Lewis
- Brienne Delaney
- Crista Carlino
- Dan Boots
- Leroy Robinson
- Carlos Perkins
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on Facebook at Elizabeth Gabriel, Southside Reporter and on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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