Over the past year, several tech companies looking to build data centers in Indianapolis have faced intense community opposition.
Publicly, Mayor Joe Hogsett has taken a neutral position on data centers. His office has said that his administration “does not get involved with zoning decisions.”
But a letter from his economic development organization in support of a proposed data center in Martindale Brightwood sends a different signal.
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Indy residents and councilors have been pushing back.
Indianapolis Economic Development Inc., a nonprofit organization established by the Hogsett administration to spur job creation and retention, sent a letter to members of the city’s Metropolitan Development Commission asking them to approve the project.
The undated letter to the commission responsible for approving economic development projects is signed by “the leadership and staff of Indy Economic Development, Inc.” No names are listed.
“Metrobloks’ commitment to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the City of Indianapolis and specifically the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood will result in exponentially increased tax revenue from the site,” the letter states. “Furthermore, we are impressed with Metrobloks’ corporate approach to investing in sites that are prime for redevelopment or have been vacant/underutilized. This proposed site has been vacant for over 40 years.”
Hogsett, a Democrat, is chair of IEDI’s board of directors, and he handpicked former Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger to lead the organization. As board chair, Hogsett helps set the goals, priorities and overall direction of the organization, according to the mayor’s office.
Aliya Wishner, a Hogsett spokesperson, did not directly respond to a Mirror Indy question asking whether the mayor supports the Metrobloks project. Wishner reiterated that the Hogsett administration does not get involved in local zoning decisions.
Other organizations that have written letters of support for the project include the Indy Chamber, several labor unions and the Greater Indianapolis NAACP.
Schellinger previously voiced support for Google’s proposed data center in Franklin Township. The tech giant withdrew its rezoning petition after a majority of City-County Council members came out against the project.
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Some zoning proposals are reviewed by city-county councilors, while others aren’t.
Neighbors oppose project
Los Angeles-based Metrobloks wants to build a $500-million, 150,000-square-foot data center at 2505 N. Sherman Drive, the site of the former Sherman Drive-In Theater, which closed in the 1980s.
The company has indicated a willingness to work with neighbors, and is pledging to allocate $2.5 million to the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood. The project is expected to generate as much as $10 million a year in property tax revenue.
But residents in the area remain strongly opposed to the project. Many are concerned about environmental pollution, while others are wary of giving tax breaks for a development that offers few long-term jobs.
Paula Brooks, a representative of neighborhood opposition group Protect Martindale Brightwood, said the letter is confirmation Hogsett supports the proposal.
“As board chair he directs policy and strategy of the organization,” Brooks said. “So if he didn’t approve of this particular petition, I don’t think it would have seen the light of day.”
Brooks said Protect Martindale Brightwood has long believed Hogsett has been involved in the Metrobloks proposal in some capacity.
“It’s not an apartment building zoning petition; I can understand that the mayor’s not going to get involved in that,” Brooks said. “But this is a heavy industrial project, transformational in its nature. There’s no way that the mayor or his administration would not have OK’d it from the beginning.”
Metrobloks approval delayed
The letter from the IEDI was published on the city’s website shortly before the Metropolitan Development Commission was expected to approve the project.
But City-County Councilor Ron Gibson, a Democrat who has publicly supported the data center, surprised many when he asked the commission to delay a vote until next month.
“We’ll work very hard in the next 30 days to try and inform the community more about the benefits of this project,” Gibson told commissioners at the March 4 meeting.
Gibson did not immediately respond to a Mirror Indy question about how he will inform the community about the benefits of the project.
The Metropolitan Development Commission is expected to vote on the Metrobloks rezoning petition at its April 1 meeting at the City-County Building.
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Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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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