Update, Oct. 17: The Henry County Plan Commission voted 6-2 to table this proposal following the developer’s presentation and at least an hour of public comment during which people spoke both for and against the project. They are next scheduled to meet on Nov. 20.
Original story, Oct. 15: The developer that scrapped plans for a data center in Hancock County earlier this year is now shifting its focus to a major technology park further east.
Shelbyville-based Surge Development LLC on Thursday will go before the Henry County Plan Commission to present preliminary plans for a 585-acre technology park near the intersection of State Road 109 and Interstate 70. The park would include a data center along with space for electric substations, research buildings and potentially advanced manufacturing facilities.
Chris King, principal of Surge Development, said the land for the site is currently under option, and needs to be rezoned from agricultural to light industrial.
King said he’s hoping to do things differently than other data center projects by building on-site energy generation. King said he’s in talks with Henry County REMC and Hoosier Energy about power for the site, noting that the property has a gas line running through it.
“That brings a unique approach to this. If we can identify users, we’ve got the potential that they can fund 100% of the generation that they would need without affecting rate payers,” King said. “It’s an opportunity that those large users could locate in a more rural location, and could benefit a more rural community, quite honestly.”
Surge is partnering with Springport-based GM Development Companies LLC for the project.
Community focus
King was named to the board of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. by Gov. Mike Braun in June, an effort by the governor to dismantle the previous roster in the wake of allegations of potential impropriety at the agency and some of its affiliates. Though the IEDC has been aggressive in offering state tax credits to data center projects, King said Surge has not and will not seek credits from the IEDC for the Henry County project.
“If a company that eventually locates at the site applies for state tax credits, I would be fully screened from and not participate in any related discussions or decisions,” King said. “I take these matters very seriously and am 100% committed to avoiding any potential conflicts of interest in all aspects of my involvement.”
The developers haven’t entered serious talks with potential tenants, King said, since he wants to make sure Henry County residents are on board with the technology park before making decisions about end-users. King said the community focus is one of the lessons he learned from his previous attempt at moving a data center forward in Hancock County.
That proposal called for a data center campus on around 775 acres of land between the Indianapolis Regional Airport and Tuttle Orchards. The project was met with significant public pushback, notably from the owners of the orchard, which ultimately led to King withdrawing the rezoning proposal in May.
For the Henry County project, Surge held an all-day open house over the summer and another on Tuesday to answer questions from residents. King emphasized the project will have 300-foot setbacks, which exceed Henry County requirements, with 8-foot landscape mounds. In addition, he’s committed to having 25% of the 585 acres be open space.
“We’re being very attentive to neighbors’ needs, and working to buffer any other properties around there that we can to make sure that this is a good project for everybody involved,” King said.
Community concerns
Developers have submitted general site plans as they look to rezone the land, though initial plans for the first phase of the park is for an 800,000-square-foot data center with an electrical generation station. King said more detailed documents will come when tenants are attached to the site, including plans for electric and water usage.
Even with no formal agreements in place, King said his goal is for all tenants to pay for 100%, or more, of their power, with the theory being that utility providers could then subsidize rates for neighboring users. King also said he hopes the data center operator would use either an air-cooled system or a closed-loop system to conserve water. Documents submitted by Surge say there will be no ground wells built on the site.
Still, there is public opposition to the technology park. As of Wednesday, a petition signed by 1,770 people urged officials to block any data center building and multiple social media pages are rallying against the proposal, expressing concerns about land use, utility use and air quality impacts.
“We deserve a say in large-scale changes to our community, especially when there are numerous negative impacts on those of us to live here,” petitioners wrote. “The corporate executives who will make the most money on this center do not live in our community, so that money won’t stay in our community either.”
The plan commission will hear the presentation on Thursday, but rezoning will be decided by the county’s commissioners.