New data center project being proposed for New Carlisle
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A proposed rezoning ordinance could be the start of another data center project in New Carlisle, not far from where Amazon Web Services is currently building its own data center.
Our partners at WSBT-TV report the St. Joseph County Council on Tuesday referred the ordinance to the Land Use Planning Committee.
If approved, more than 1,000 acres of farmland would be rezoned from agricultural to industrial in support of an unidentified company seeking to develop a new data center.
New Carlisle Town Council President Marcy Kauffman expressed concerns about the project after the county council meeting.
“We have a lot to handle with Amazon and with GM coming and…it would be something that probably our community just couldn’t absorb with all the growth, with all the traffic, with just industrialization,” Kauffman told reporters.
The county council could vote on the rezoning ordinance next month, according to WSBT.
Amazon Web Services broke ground on its $11 billion data center campus near New Carlisle last September. The project represents the largest capital investment in Indiana history and is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs in the St. Joseph County town.
Additionally, Microsoft is planning to build a data center on more than 900 acres of land in Granger. The St. Joseph County Council on Tuesday also approved rezoning for an additional 40 acres of land for that project.
Residents expressed concerns over traffic issues they believe would be caused by the project. Council President Dan Schaetzle told WSBT that the additional land was always part of Microsoft’s plan.
“We are living in an era when things are changing rapidly, and AI and data centers are part of that change,” he said. “So, you know, we are going to see some of that. But again, I think balance is really important, and we need to find that balance.”
WSBT reports Microsoft aims to conduct a traffic study to be completed by early July.