Martindale-Brightwood data center advances despite months of resident pushback

The proposed data center in Martindale-Brightwood has cleared another hurdle, despite significant community pushback. 

Thursday, the Metropolitan Development Commission’s Hearing Examiner recommended a rezoning request for the nearly 14-acre data center in the historically Black neighborhood on Indianapolis’s near northeast side. 

The recommendation follows months of pushback from residents who say the project would bring more industrial development to a neighborhood already burdened by environmental contamination.

Over months of activism and organizing, residents of the community say the proposal has reignited longstanding concerns about pollution in the area — including lead-contaminated soil — amid growing fears that the project could bring additional burdens related to noise, water use and power demand. 

The California-based startup Metrobloks has tried to differentiate itself from hyperscale data centers, maintaining in public meetings and hearings that it is a small business working to develop small data centers in cities. 

“We’re not done,” said Martindale-Brightwood resident and organizer Cierra Johnson, who confirmed the community will appeal the decision. 

Just half an hour before the rezoning hearing began, City-County Councilors Vop Osili, Rena Allen, Dan Boots, Keith Graves, Carlos Perkins, and Leroy Robinson released a joint statement calling for guardrails on data centers in Indianapolis. They pledged their support for the Martindale Brightwood community’s organized opposition to the data center development.

“Until the city finalizes and implements clear expectations for data center development, we call on Metrobloks to pause or withdraw its pending proposals,” the statement wrote. 

Metrobloks, the developer, has committed to paying all the utility costs associated with the project, according to their attorney, Tyler Ochs. 

“They are not expected to foot the bill,” Ochs said at the hearing. 

Now, the request will go to the full Metropolitan Development Council. After that vote, Indianapolis City-County councilors could “call down” the rezoning request for a vote by the entire City-County Council. The full council can override the MDC, similar to the action Councilor Michael Paul-Hart took with Google’s proposed data center in Franklin Township last year. 

But Councilor Ron Gibson, who represents the district where the data center would be built, is in support of the Metrobloks proposal, arguing in a letter to the commission that the move is “a rare and significant opportunity to transform this longtime dormant site into a productive, modern asset that aligns with Indianapolis' long-term economic development goals.”

His stance has drawn criticism from many members of the community, including Cierra Johnson, who said after the meeting she was disappointed in Councilor Gibson.

“We want to have faith in our elected officials and all of the people who work for our government, but hopefully, they will surprise us at this point.” 

Just this week, members of the community asked Mayor Joe Hogsett to intervene and stop the development. The mayor’s spokesperson said he would not be getting involved in rezoning issues, following the precedent set by previous administrations. 

After the decision, community member Denell Howard said he has yet to meet a Martindale-Brightwood resident who is in support of the data center. This decision, he said, was a miscarriage of justice. 

“Everybody who's standing is saying they're against the data center,” he said. “Be prepared to see more of us.” 

Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.