The Metropolitan Development Commission hearing examiner on Thursday gave Los Angeles-based Metrobloks the first approval it needs to build a data center in Martindale-Brightwood, despite fierce opposition from neighborhood groups since plans for the project were announced.
The data center is planned for a nearly 14-acre parcel at 2505 N. Sherman Drive – the former site of the Sherman Drive In – which is currently zoned for industrial use.
Metrobloks had asked to rezone the site from industrial to special commercial. Additionally, the company requested exceptions to zoning standards that would allow the building to be 70 feet tall, have fewer parking spaces and sit closer to the street.
Attorneys representing Metrobloks first made plans for a data center in Martindale-Brightwood public in September. Residents quickly organized against the project, citing the neighborhood’s history of heavy industrial work leaving behind environmental contamination.
Judy Weerts Hall, the hearing examiner, gave a long preface to her approval Thursday before announcing it to the audience gathered in the public assembly room at the City-County Building, many of whom were vehemently opposed to the project.
Weerts Hall said Metrobloks had submitted data to show its water and energy use would be limited, and the company has agreed to commitments that will “make this project fit in the community.”
Hearing examiners are contract employees appointed by the Metropolitan Development Commission. City development staff had already recommended that the hearing examiner approve Metrobloks’ requests.
That isn’t the final say on the project – neighborhood groups are allowed to appeal the decision to the Metropolitan Development Commission. Cierra Johnson, spokesperson for the Protect Martindale-Brightwood Coalition, told reporters the coalition plans to do so.
“We will not stop,” Johnson said. “This is not over.”
Neighbors push back
Residents who formed the Protect Martindale-Brightwood Coalition said the group couldn’t find any proof of support among residents for the data center.
Jacklyn McMillan Gunn said the group knocked 1,245 doors and made 4,500 calls regarding the project. Through that, it gathered 437 signatures from individuals and 59 from neighborhood associations and community-based neighborhood organizations on a petition opposing the data center.
“Unfortunately, our city councilor has not stood with the community,” she said.
McMillan Gunn said it is concerning that Metrobloks has public plans for seven data centers across the nation but has yet to break ground on any of them.
“The company relies on a speculative phase financing model in which zoning approval and entitlements are sought before tenants are secured or full project financing is in place,” she said. “This creates a Catch-22 in which communities are asked to approve major land use changes without any assurance the project will ever be built.”
Johnson, also of the coalition, added that while the company classifies this data center as small, it is larger than the 10,000-square-feet threshold that data center advisory group Uptime Institute classifies as large-scale and heavy industrial.
“A high-voltage substation, massive mechanical systems that will operate 24/7, 365 do not belong next to homes and churches, Brightwood Plaza or our library,” Johnson said.
She said concerns regarding noise pollution, water and power use, negative environmental impact and the lack of long-term stimulation to the local economy are unresolved, “and lead us to conclude this proposal is injurious to the public safety, health, morals and general welfare of the Martindale-Brightwood community.”
Metrobloks’ commitments
Metrobloks has agreed to some city-imposed requirements in its effort to build the $500 million data center.
Bose McKinney & Evans attorney Tyler Ochs, who represents the company, said Metrobloks plans to spend $2.5 million on infrastructure and affordable housing in the area. He also noted the company has agreed to requests from city planning staff that include sound absorption around noisy generators, screening mechanical equipment from public view, testing equipment between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and submission of a noise report.
Regarding environmental concerns, Ochs said the city remediated the land in 2012 and got the all-clear from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Still, he said Metrobloks would employ Indianapolis-based environmental consultancy August Mack to test soil during construction.
Additionally, Ochs said the facility will have a closed-loop water system. That system would require a one-time draw of between 40,000 and 60,000 gallons of water and about 5,000 gallons annually.
He added the company plans to build a substation nearby to meet the data center’s electricity needs, and would be “on the hook” for all electricity costs and improvements.
Councilors disagree on data center
Just 30 minutes before the meeting was slated to begin, members of the Indianapolis City-County Council distributed a press release urging Metrobloks to pause or withdraw its petition. This comes amid discussions by councilors regarding potential ordinances that would regulate data centers within the city.
Councilors Vop Osili, Rena Allen, Dan Boots, Keith Graves, Carlos Perkins and Leroy Robinson – all Democrats – signed onto the statement.
“Residents have spoken clearly regarding the proposed Metrobloks data center in Martindale-Brightwood,” the statement says. “Neighbors have raised serious concerns about infrastructure strain, environmental impact, land use compatibility, and the lack of direct, tangible community benefits. We stand with the Martindale-Brightwood community.”
Councilor Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents an area that includes Martindale-Brightwood, has in recent months attracted ire from some of his constituents because of his support for the project.
Anti-data-center protesters booed as Gibson spoke in support of the development during Thursday’s meeting. He said the highly visible property has gone unused for decades and that the data center is a “reasonable step” to address it. Compared to the current industrial zoning, Gibson said the data center use is more limited and predictable. Additionally, he said it will create at least 300 union jobs in construction.
Still, he noted “reasonable concerns” from community members.
“Those concerns have guided my review,” Gibson said, “and I would not support this request if I believe it imposes new or unreasonable burdens on nearby homes or businesses.”
Councilor Jesse Brown – who does not represent the neighborhood but has supported residents’ pushback – said that the current data center bubble could pop, leaving the Metrobloks facility vacant and with few options for reuse.
Brown, a Democratic Socialist, also said the government works for the people, and the people have clearly stated they are against the data center.
“Are we really so confident that data centers are the future that we’re willing to paint ourselves into the corner supporting them,” Brown asked, “even over such intense community disapproval?”
The nine-member Metropolitan Development Commission will hear the petition on March 4.