Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Google has formally withdrawn its plans for a $1.5 billion data center in Franklin Township, following intense pushback from neighbors and some city leaders.
On Wednesday, the company, through holding company Deep Meadow Ventures, LLC, formally asked the city’s Metropolitan Development Commission to rescind its previously-approved rezone of the 468-acre site near Interstate 65.
The request comes less than two weeks after the company informed the City-County Council that it intended to withdraw its proposal after more than three-fifths of councilors said they planned to overturn the approval, following the lead of Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, who represents the area.
Joe Calderon, an attorney for Deep Meadow Ventures, said the formal withdrawal notice was filed with the Department of Metropolitan Development on Sept. 23, a day after the council meeting.
By withdrawing, the company is able to refile its request in three months, but it’s unclear whether it intends to do so. Calderon did not immediately respond to messages from IBJ seeking comment.
Google does not own the land it planned to use for the project. Rather, the land was under contract, pending approval of the rezoning request and proposed incentives including a real property abatement and a 40-year personal property exemption.
Those incentives, orchestrated by Indianapolis Economic Development Inc., had not yet been considered by the commission or the council and were being handled separately from the rezoning request.
John Dillon, president of the council- and mayor-appointed Metropolitan Development Commission, did not directly address the City-County Council’s plan to rebuke the MDC’s approval of the land-use request, but he did tell Calderon during the public meeting that the commission’s decision to accept the withdrawal was “a begrudging acceptance.”
It is rare for council to call down a zoning case for consideration, as the body’s approval is often viewed as a formality in the city’s typically apolitical development process. But Hart’s pushback on the proposed development led to a coalition with his fellow Republicans on the council, as well as numerous Democrats, with some following his lead and others outlining their own reasons, including environmental concerns.
Dillon said he was appreciative of “the hard work and research that was done by the commission on this topic.”
It’s unclear whether Google will move forward with efforts to build a data center in central Indiana, whether in Marion County or elsewhere.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
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.