A City-County Council committee voted 11-2 Monday to recommend the full council reject about $113 million in tax breaks for data center developer DC Blox. The company previously won approval to build a two building campus on Indianapolis’ east side.
The recommendation is not binding. The full council, which must also approve the tax abatements, is expected to vote in December.
More than two dozen people spoke at the meeting in council chambers — nearly all opposed the tax deal. Indy Economic Development CEO Andrea Richter-Garry, whose organization negotiated the deal for the city, told the committee the project would bring in about $58 million to the local community during the abatement period: roughly $28 million in taxes plus the company’s $30 million pledge.
DC Blox has not fully committed to building the $1.8 billion data center project at 305 Fintail Drive near Irvington. Asked by Councilor Andy Nielsen whether it would build the first building without the abatements, David Armistead, the company's senior vice president of sales, said it has no full tenant commitments on that building and none on the second, citing a court challenge to its land use approval.
The Atlanta-based company said the project is planned to be built in two phases — a one-story, 70,000-square-foot building expected to be completed within two years, followed by a two-story, 250,000-square-foot building, in the next five years. The development would create hundreds of temporary construction jobs and 21 permanent positions.
Data centers have become a major target of Indiana's economic development strategy, but the industry's need for electricity has put it at odds with a separate fight over rising utility costs. Gov. Mike Braun signed a law this year aimed at reining in utility rates, and critics argue large-scale power consumers like data centers make that harder.
Members of the council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee considered two abatements: a 10-year, 50% break on real property taxes on land and buildings, and a 10-year, 85% break on personal property taxes on high-tech equipment like servers.
The site of the data center is on the border of two districts represented by two members of the City-County Council — Nielsen and Michael-Paul Hart.
Nielsen rejected the plan.
“The presentation we got is clear as mud,” he said. “It is speculative.”
If the project is built as planned, the company said it would still pay about $28 million in property taxes during the abatement period. It also pledges $30 million for east side projects on top of the local taxes, including park and trail upgrades, a fire station and $5.7 million in redevelopment of Washington Square Mall.
Councilor Hart, who sponsored the proposals, said the vote is about east side investment, not whether to allow a data center, which the Metropolitan Development Commission already approved.
“You see convention centers in Noblesville and in Fishers — all those things are starting to take the people away from Indianapolis because we're not investing in our townships,” he said. “We're going to become a downtown of nothing if we don’t start doing it.”
Residents who testified opposed the breaks. Sue Beecher, president of the Irvington Community Council, said the group voted unanimously against any abatements. Others cited concerns over contamination or said the company could afford to build the campus without tax breaks.
DC Blox is one of three data centers in the city approved before the Metropolitan Development Commission voted in August to temporarily ban new developments in Marion County through 2027.
The other approved centers are Sabey Data Centers’ $4.3 billion project in Decatur Township, which received more than $240 million in tax breaks in September, and Metrobloks’ project in Martindale-Brightwood.
DC Blox is also planning to seek state incentives but the application is not yet complete.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle
