Google is one step closer to building a data center on the south side.
The nine-member Metropolitan Development Commission voted 8-1 on Wednesday, Aug. 20, to advance a proposal that would rezone 468 acres of farmland in Franklin Township to make way for the data center. The proposal will next move to the City-County Council, which could vote on the plan as early as next month.
The commission’s decision is a gut punch to southsiders who are concerned about potential environmental pollution and higher utility rates.
“We are not anti-development,” said Julie Goldsberry, a longtime Franklin Township resident. “We understand that something will be built on this site. But all homeowners care about what happens to the properties near their home.”
Deep Meadow Ventures, a Delaware-based company, submitted a rezoning petition last year. Information about the company’s staff has been anonymous. However, Joseph D. Calderon, a lawyer with Indianapolis-based Barnes & Thornburg who has represented Deep Meadow Ventures, announced during the meeting that the company was created by Google.
At the meeting, city staff also announced a recommendation to provide the company with property tax cuts for 10 years. An Indiana law allows county leaders to decide whether to make that decision for developers of data centers.
City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican who represents the area, spoke against the proposal during the meeting. He compared the potential impact of the data center against two manufacturing companies that he said provide more benefit to the community.
“They have brought, combined, 500 jobs and have abatements for less than seven years, take up a fraction of the space,” said Hart during the meeting. “In comparison to this proposed data center, which would bring about 50 jobs, consume far more energy and provide far less in return, both in jobs and tax revenue as a benefit to the community.”
Next steps
The land rezoning proposal will head to the City-County Council for a final decision, which is expected in late September.
The Metropolitan Development Commission, meanwhile, will hold a public hearing for the proposed tax incentives at 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at 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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