In Martindale Brightwood, the former site of the Sherman Drive-in Theater has sat vacant since the 1980s.
Today, the nearly 14-acre lot at 2505 N. Sherman Drive is overgrown with weeds and surrounded by a broken chain link fence.
But a plan to develop the site with an AI data center is being vocally rejected by residents who say it would only add to the long history of pollution in the neighborhood.
“The lot has been underdeveloped,” said Cierra Johnson, a representative of the neighborhood advocacy group Protect Martindale Brightwood Coalition. “We’d rather have it as a site for potential investment that we support, than to just have it filled with something that could potentially harm us.”
Johnson and other community leaders in Martindale Brightwood shared their concerns about the environmental impacts the data center could bring at a press conference Monday, Nov. 17.
The press conference comes one month after Los Angeles-based developer Metrobloks filed a rezoning petition on Oct. 16 to build a data center at the site.
For months, residents have been vocal about their opposition to the data center. Many residents say the development would not benefit the community or bring jobs. The petition was filed just days after nearly 100 residents protested at the site — and after Metrobloks backed out of a community meeting with residents.
The company’s leaders previously told community members that the data center would be smaller and more sustainable than larger data centers.
But many Martindale Brightwood leaders remain unconvinced.
“We want clean air, water and soil. No data center,” said Elizabeth Gore, chair of the Martindale Brightwood Environmental Justice Collaborative.
Metrobloks proposal
The site is a brownfield — meaning the land may be contaminated or polluted. At a Sept. 23 meeting between the developer and residents, Metrobloks CEO Ernest Popescu said further environmental studies on the site need to be completed before development begins.
Popescu said his development would be smaller and more sustainable than “large-scale data centers,” like the one Google proposed in Franklin Township, in part because it would use a closed-loop water system. That means the water would be recycled and stay on site, instead of going back into the water supply. He said it would only use a couple thousand gallons of water each year for cooling and expects to lose 5% to evaporation.
According to reporting from Indianapolis Business Journal, documents submitted to the Department of Metropolitan Development state the facility would use between zero and 3,325 gallons of water per year. An additional 65,500 gallons of water, not pulled from groundwater systems, would be used to fill the system.
It’s unclear what other impacts, such as noise or heat, the facility could have on the surrounding properties. Metrobloks representatives did not immediately respond to questions emailed by Mirror Indy.
A history of environmental contamination
The filing comes as Martindale Brightwood is in the process of implementing its quality of life plan, which includes a focus on environmental justice.
Combating the effects of environmental contamination isn’t new to Martindale Brightwood residents. It’s something Gore, from the environmental justice group, has been doing for nearly 16 years.
“The EPA has cleaned up areas where companies left and chemicals were either still in the building or soil,” Gore said. “We have lost a lot of neighbors already to contamination. Our children are suffering from learning disabilities based on lead in the soil.”
Gore pointed to the site of the former American Lead facility on Hillside Avenue. The site was used for industrial purposes dating back to the late 1880s, including nearly 20 years of lead smelting. Decades later, hundreds of homes would require cleanup after lead was found in the soil.
Gore said the site of the proposed data center is also in a residential area.
“Nothing that they’re going to bring is going to be helpful to our neighborhood,” Gore said.
The site of the proposed data center is near the Martindale Brightwood library branch and the Martindale Brightwood Community Development Corporation. And it is directly across from several homes.
Cierra Johsnon said the neighborhood’s message is simple.
“No more polluting industry in Martindale Brightwood,” Johnson said. “No more false promises. And no more development that imposes harm on a community that has already carried more than its share.”
Next steps
City-County Councilor Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents the neighborhood, was initially in support of the data center. In September, Gibson told reporters he was contacted by attorneys for Metrobloks this summer. He also told reporters he would not approve of the development if it was not backed by community support.
Representatives from Protect Martindale Brightwood said they have not met with Gibson.
A public hearing for the rezoning petition is forthcoming.
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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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