Comments from representatives of a Seattle-based tech firm failed to garner support for a proposed data center on the southwest side of Marion County.
Roughly 150 residents attended a panel discussion between the Decatur Township Civic Council’s Land Use Committee, lawyers and staff members from Sabey Data Centers, which wants to develop a two-building data center in Decatur Township.
Residents asked John Sabey, the CEO of Sabey Data Centers, questions about how the business will operate, the longevity of data center technology and shared concerns about a potential tech hub lowering property values and polluting the environment.
Tensions increased while residents provided public comments and Sabey officials seemed to laugh and speak under their breath.
“For someone to come and laugh at us, (they) don’t need to be here,” said Travis Walker, a lifelong Decatur Township resident.
None of the residents who spoke during the public comment period were in favor of building the data center. Many southsiders had questions about water usage, electricity rates and impacts to the environment, as well as the electrical grid, that Sabey couldn’t answer since designs for their biggest data center aren’t finished.
Randi Berryman, who attended the meeting and has lived in Decatur Township for eight years, created the new Protect Decatur Township advocacy group. Over the past month, she’s recruited four other residents to help as they work toward making front yard signs, an online petition and more social media accounts so they can engage younger community members.
“I just started trying to get the word out because I was afraid people weren’t hearing something that was really important,” Berryman told Mirror Indy before the meeting.
This southside data center issue comes about three months after Google withdrew its proposal for a tech hub in Franklin Township. But it’s unclear if this battle will have the same outcome.
Residents remain skeptical
In order to move forward with the proposal in Decatur Township, Sabey must convince the city to grant them an exception to standard zoning requirements. The property is currently zoned for industrial use, but it doesn’t allow for a data center.
Sabey’s CEO said the project would be a win for everyone because the data center wouldn’t be as noisy as the technology park residents previously approved for the site, while also allowing Sabey to serve customers that help people access emails, online storage and other data.
“There are a number of people that like the Indianapolis area,” Sabey said. “And this area, basically, was requested for serving other customers in the Indianapolis market (and) Indiana market.”
But many residents aren’t on board.
Sabey could rent out the facility to multiple clients that need artificial intelligence support, or just a single customer, but they don’t have any clients yet for this project. The company already works with well-known organizations for other facilities across the country, such as Microsoft and BlackRock, a global investment firm that is trying to buy the AES Corporation. If approved, the local utility company, AES Indiana, would power Sabey’s data center.
Some Indiana data centers are eligible for property tax abatement, which residents say shouldn’t be awarded to billion and trillion dollar companies. In response, Sabey officials, who requested a 50% property tax abatement, said the plan would provide the community with more funds than the $16,000 of taxes the property currently generates. Staff said residents would receive at least $10 million annually in property taxes for schools, fire department and other public services, over the next decade. Then, the amount would double.
Many southsiders fear they’ll hardly see a dime. A pie chart from Sabey shows that a bulk of the funds would go to the county at large, with roughly $239,300 going to Decatur Township’s general fund for fire, EMS and other assistance annually, and about $543,200 to the township’s school district each year for the first 10 years.
“You want to build here because the land is cheap,” Emma Hart told Sabey representatives. “You are not coming here to try to help anyone that showed up here tonight.”
What’s next
At the meeting, members collected feedback to make a recommendation to the full civic council, which is expected to vote on it Monday, Jan. 26. The recommendation, which will be submitted to the Metropolitan Development Commission, isn’t legally binding.
Community members can discuss the proposed data center multiple times in January. Then, Sabey and remonstrators, residents against the proposal, will present their side to the Metropolitan Development Commission’s hearing examiner.
Sabey was scheduled to go before the hearing examiner Thursday, Dec. 18, but the meeting was pushed back to Thursday, Jan. 29.
Upcoming meetings
Decatur Township Civic Council’s town hall
🗓️ 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14
📍Decatur Central High School’s Performing Arts Center, 5251 Kentucky Ave.
Decatur Township Civic Council’s monthly meeting
🗓️7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26
📍Location is TBD
Metropolitan Development Commission’s Hearing Examiner
🗓️1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29
📍Public Assembly Room within the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St.
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Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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