Data center in Irvington industrial park receives initial city approval

22 Comments

Editor's note: You can comment on IBJ stories by signing in to your IBJ account. If you have not registered, please sign up for a free account now. Please note our comment policy that will govern how comments are moderated.

1. 83% of the residents nearby oppose the project and yet it may be shoved down their throats regardless. Gross.

   Log in to Reply

   1. Where does that number come from Mike?

   2. From a survey of the community. What’s your point here?

2. councilors Nielson and Brown have a new trend of opining on projects outside of their home area. I think they have better ideas for this toxic brownfield and need to convince councilor Hart of their grand plans. clearly the neighbors want something else. Why add to the local tax base? I think the tactics of the remonstrators who come and disrupt and yell and swear should be outlawed as it is so rude..so unamerican to cause chaos and rude non hoosier way of debate. civil unrest is for chicago and new york not indianapolis

   Log in to Reply

   1. I have no love for data centers, they are an environmental black hole, but the site is already zoned for this. The hearing examiner is just following the law.

      It’s not until it gets past this point, that it becomes more of a political decision.

   2. Matt, look at the article on the WTHR website (served by a data center) today. You’ll see people holding placards from the Indianapolis Liberation Center, which is part of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which you can look up on another website, Wikipedia, and that’s pretty much what this is about. Those people don’t know who the PSL are or what a data center is. On that note, you’re using data centers right now Dan. Somewhere wayyyy in the back of your mind is the term “AI”, but you’re trained not to focus on the actual problem.

   3. Did you even read the article? If you had, you would have noted that 97% of the residents around the proposed site live in Nielsen’s district, and 83% of those residents surveyed oppose the project.

      It’s so telling how people making the “civil unrest is bad” argument also cite blue cities but never the most shameful day in our country’s history, January 6.

      The bottom line is that there are many and growing examples of these projects receiving huge tax handouts and then not fulfilling their community commitments. Instead, they spew a constant racket and diesel fumes that keep kids awake at night and cause breathing issues.

      Luckily, the billionaires pushing these down our throats can count on folks like you to jump at the opportunity for the scraps of “tax revenue” they may or may not provide at some unspecified point in the future.

   4. Okeydokey, I see what’s happening here. Mike’s part of the “all data centers are identical” voodoo religion which uses alarmist misinformation such as “they spew a constant racket and diesel fumes that keep kids awake at night and cause breathing issues.” What’s doing what here, where? NO, a traditional colocation facility, I don’t care if it’s bigger than the old ones (because you stare at your phone a lot, for example) is NOT identical to an AI hyperscale data center, which rational people see as problematic. IF you live in Marion County you can drop by your local data center and see and SMELL that for yourself. Jeezus, how the eff do you think you’re able to type into these little boxes to begin with?? Councilor Hart went all the way to ATLANTA, probably on his own dime, to see what DC Blox is doing. With a frigging decibel meter no less.
      https://www.michaelpaulhart.com/post/the-sunday-post-may-17-2026-dc-blox-site-visit-ophs-accountability-and-new-eastside-developmen

3. There are a lot of mixed feelings about datacenters. But there are a lot of worse neighbors that could be moving in. They are not going to pollute water supplies or soil. They don’t employ a lot of people long term, but empty lots employ nobody. There are possible opportunities to draw other industries to the area. I am curious about the motives of those financing the very well-organized oppositions to these centers.

   Log in to Reply

   1. What I said to Matt: ook at the article on the WTHR website (served by a data center) today. You’ll see people holding placards from the Indianapolis Liberation Center, which is part of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which you can look up on another website, Wikipedia, and that’s pretty much what this is about. To add to what you said, there’s a lot of CONFUSION about “data centers”, and that’s pushed by yellow “journalists” (I call them urinalists) to get eyeballs on ads. Similarly, formerly reputable orgs like Hoosier Environmental Council are pushing this misinformation to get donations. I actually got their “data center” pitch in the mail. And sent it back to them! The problem is AI HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS, which destroy farmland, waste water etc, not these urban colocation facilities. People stare at screens too much, so the demand is up.

   2. Maybe G M, apparently the most informed voice on this topic according to him or herself, can explain how 56 diesel generators firing at once are good for this neighborhood and the elementary school just across from the busy bike trail? Explain why the community should just disregard the myriad reporting of communities utterly regretting their support for these once they actually have to live around them.

   3. Michael, most of what could go on this site instead BY RIGHT (look up what that means) is much worse for the neighborhood than the data center.

      Imagine an Amazon or FedEx warehouse surrounded by dozens of diesel trucks idling 24/7, along with the incessant beeping as they back into docks, and the traffic on Kitley and English Avenues from employee cars and delivery trucks.

   4. Again with the false dilemma fallacy, Chris. Is that really the only way you look at this? Can you even show that a mass of trucks beeping reach the same decibel as a data center, or that they would pollute the surrounding air more than these diesel generators? Or, are you just making a bad faith argument because you have an agenda?

   5. Michael, it is not a “false dilemma”. The site is zoned for exactly the kinds of uses I said are allowed by right. Or have you totally overlooked the big beverage warehouse on the Thunderbird site? You know, the one with all the employees and diesel trucks coming and going?

      And in what world do 56 diesel powered backup generators test-running 30 minutes equal a fleet of diesel powered semi trucks coming and going from a massive warehouse 24/7?

   6. Clearly someone has a fact-resistant agenda here, but it’s not me.

   7. What I said above, Chris. Mike’s part of the “all data centers are identical” voodoo cult. Again, Hart went to Atlanta to see what DC Blox wants to build here.
      https://www.michaelpaulhart.com/post/the-sunday-post-may-17-2026-dc-blox-site-visit-ophs-accountability-and-new-eastside-developmen

4. Let’s see, the former massive Ford plant was there for half a century, and it was noisy and polluting with serious truck traffic, and the local neighbors never said a word about it, and some worked there.
   The even larger massive International Harvester plant was just south of there for about a full century and it was a louder major polluter than Ford. The locals never said much about it.
   Even more interesting the Irvington folks never really claimed Ford or Harvester as part of Irvington.
   Now that a proposed data center is attempting to occupy half of the already redeveloped industrial park Lauth has created, everyone is out to fight it, and the existing zoning even allows a data center.
   Sure sounds like a lot of self anointed experts are making claims against the center based on internet knowledge and not the best use of site and economic development contributions.
   The hearing examiner did the right thing and hopefully the variance board does also.

   Log in to Reply

   1. Amen, Kevin. I used to live just up from the Harvester and Ford plants. Voluntarily. And because my neighbors worked there, I appreciated their presence.

   2. What’s going on, if you haven’t figured it out, is truly surreal: Yellow journalism (I call it “urinalism”) is stoking (because it makes them money – the basis of yellow journalism) hysteria about “data centers”, which most people are clueless about to begin with, causing them to believe that they’re ALL a problem: Old, new, small, humongous, AI, colocation, whatever, they can’t and don’t differentiate. That hysteria is amplified by social media, ironically. If you use Facebook, DON’T click on anything to do with data centers, because Meta will serve you anything with those words that pops up nationwide. So we have people from, say, Texas ranting on Facebook news posts about this project in Indianapolis, claiming we’re all gonna die from noise and fumes and groundwater depletion. The problem is particularly bizarre in Indy due to the project in Martindale-Brightwood, and I’ll not go into that except to say that there, like the hearing on Wednesday, the Party for Socialism and Liberation is printing those placards. I have no use for commies or fascists, but here we are, Naptownians.

5. A few pieces of info from Gemini complements of a datacenter someplace;

   DC Blox plans a $2.2 billion, 410,000-square-foot data center campus at the Thunderbird Commerce Center in Warren Township, Indianapolis. The company recently cleared its first major hurdle after a city hearing examiner recommended approving the use variance, with final approval expected from the Metropolitan Development Commission in July.
   The developer has made several specific commitments to local residents and the city to address concerns regarding noise, infrastructure, and the environment:Noise & Generator Limits: Noise levels will not exceed 65 decibels at the property line.
   The 56 backup generators will only run during outages and routine tests, with no testing allowed between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. or on certain holidays.Environmental Impact:
   The site will be cooled using a closed-loop system, drawing all water from municipal providers rather than groundwater.
   Energy Infrastructure: DC Blox has committed to paying the full cost of a new substation to supply the data center’s 78-megawatt energy requirements.Labor & Community Pledges:
   The company has pledged to use local union labor during construction, and to provide donations for the maintenance of the nearby Pennsy Trail.

   Log in to Reply

   1. A sound level of 65 decibels (dB) is considered a moderate, conversational volume. It is noticeable but generally comfortable, completely safe for human hearing, and does not require any ear protection.
      Real-World Sound ExamplesTo get a sense of how loud 65 dB is, compare it to these everyday environments and items:
      Normal conversation: A standard spoken conversation between two people sitting a few feet apart.A busy office or cafe:
      The combined ambient sound of typing, soft murmurs, and background movement.
      Laughter: A group of people sharing a typical, lighthearted laugh.
      A modern air conditioner: The humming sound of a portable AC unit or large building transformer.
      Context and Distance
      How loud 65 dB actually feels to you depends entirely on your environment and how far away you are from the source:In a quiet home:
      It will sound prominent and easily audible, similar to background television music.
      Outdoors or near traffic: It will blend right into the environment, as general street noise easily masks this level.

   2. Thanks Eric. Hart actually went to Atlanta to get facts on the DC Blox facility there.
      https://www.michaelpaulhart.com/post/the-sunday-post-may-17-2026-dc-blox-site-visit-ophs-accountability-and-new-eastside-developmen