Georgia-based data center developer DC Blox is making public promises to a largely skeptical far eastside community in Indianapolis.
The 20-point list of commitments ranges from the company promising to pay 100% of utility costs, give money to the Pennsy Trail, and “to be an active, supportive, and civic-minded neighbor in Warren Township, investing in the long-term success of the community.”
Residents who have attended public meetings about the project have raised concerns about power use, noise, water consumption, and the health and environmental impacts of digging up contaminated soil at the site, which is a brownfield.
“I just don't trust it at all,” said Mikey Hess, a lifetime resident of the city's east side. “It's hard to trust the people who are building the data center, so even though they're telling us they're going to give us all these guarantees, I don't really trust any of them.”
The commitments come as the Department of Metropolitan Development considers putting in stricter requirements for data centers within Marion County. A formal vote on the new rules has been delayed several times this year.
DC Blox is pledging to pay all utility costs and enroll in AES's green power program, use a closed loop cooling system, avoid drawing from groundwater and limit generator use to emergencies and off-school-hours testing. The company says it is also committing to at least $20,000 annually for five years to benefit the Pennsy Trail and funding for native plant restoration along a trail easement.
The project received a recommendation from the Metropolitan Development Commission’s hearing examiner, and now heads to the full commission for a final vote.
The project site sits directly on the border of two city-county council districts — District 14, represented by Councilor Andy Nielsen, and District 20, represented by Councilor Michael-Paul Hart.
The project has drawn mixed support from the two Indianapolis City-County councilors. Hart, who previously did not support Google's proposed data center in Franklin Township, said the pledge is a meaningful step toward what residents have asked for — “clear commitments, public accountability, and a project that respects the surrounding community,” according to a DC Blox press release.
“I look forward to ensuring these commitments are clearly documented, transparent to the public, and incorporated into the appropriate project review and accountability processes,” Hart said.
But Nielsen said he opposes the development because of how many of his constituents have pushed back.
“My district has performed a cost-benefit analysis and has ultimately concluded that the development costs more than the benefits it could generate,” Nielsen wrote in a public letter in early June.
Some residents, like Julie Watson, said they feel like the development will happen no matter what they say.
"What we've seen in a lot of places across the country — these meetings happen, and then regardless of how the residents feel, the data center goes in anyway,” Watson said after a meeting hosted by Councilor Hart in May.
The proposed data campus, at the corner of South Kitley Avenue and the Pennsy Trail, would include three buildings, up to a total of 420,000 square feet. The campus could use up to 78 megawatts of electricity and include 56 backup generators.
Farrah Anderson is WFYI's investigative health reporter. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.
