In long-polluted Martindale-Brightwood, residents challenge new data center proposal

Martindale-Brightwood, a historically Black neighborhood on Indianapolis’ near northeast side, was shaped for decades by industrial growth — from railroad expansion to lead smelting to a factory explosion. When those industries closed, they left behind contamination that residents have spent years trying to clean up.

In the last decade, the neighborhood has undergone a transformation. Large amounts of lead-contaminated soil have been removed, lead service lines are being replaced and environmental justice has become a cornerstone of community organizing.

Now, residents say that progress is at risk.

Metrobloks — an out-of-state data center development company — has filed a formal application with the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development to build a data center complex on nearly 14 acres in Martindale-Brightwood. The proposal includes a high-voltage substation and dozens of diesel backup generators, infrastructure that residents fear would bring new sources of pollution to a community that has long carried the burden of industrial harm.

“Our message is simple: No more polluting industry in Martindale Brightwood, no more false promises and no more development that imposes harm on a community that has already carried more than its share,” said Cierra Johnson, a neighborhood resident and vice president of One Voice Martindale-Brightwood.

The company filed the rezoning petition with the city on Oct. 16, according to DMD, just days after neighborhood residents stopped traffic during a protest against the development. City-County Councilor Ron Gibson, who represents the area, supports the project and argues it’s different from larger-scale data centers proposed elsewhere in the region.

Elizabeth Gore, chairperson of the Martindale-Brightwood Environmental Justice Collaborative, said the neighborhood has spent more than 16 years working to address soil contamination, enforce land-use protections and keep new environmental hazards out of residential areas. 

She said Martindale-Brightwood has already endured significant harm from past industrial activity — including the former American Lead facility, where hundreds of properties required cleanup after high levels of lead were found in the soil — and that children in the neighborhood are still experiencing learning disabilities linked to that exposure.

Because of that history, Gore said the proposed data center — with its noise, industrial equipment and potential environmental impacts — poses an unacceptable risk to nearby homes, businesses and the neighborhood’s community development corporation.

“We’ve worked too hard to keep this environment safe,” she said. “We want clean air, water and soil — not another industrial project. We say no to this data center.”

Public meetings for the rezoning petition have not been scheduled.

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.