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Just before Indianapolis City-County Councilors were expected to vote on a rezoning case regarding Google’s $1 billion data center, the tech giant announced it would withdraw its request.
The city’s legislative body stepped in after the Metropolitan Development Commission approved Google’s rezoning request for the 468-acre project on Aug. 20. Councilors opted to hold a public hearing on the project in part over neighbors’ concerns about the development’s potential environmental impact and utility use.
On Monday night, when given the opportunity to speak on Google’s behalf, Indianapolis-based attorney Joe Calderon approached the podium and said: “I’d like to announce our intention to withdraw this proposal.” He did not comment further on the decision.
A Google spokesperson told IBJ: “We have withdrawn the re-zoning application for the proposed data center development in Franklin (Township). While we are disappointed that this project is not moving forward, we look forward to continued opportunities for growth in the state.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett, who had largely remained quiet on the proposed development, said in a written statement after Monday’s meeting that he respected Google’s decision.
“Indianapolis is a city where many come to grow, to innovate, and to thrive. With billions of dollars in ongoing development, significant investment in our economy, and our position as one of LinkedIn’s ‘cities on the rise’, it is no wonder Google was interested in calling Indianapolis home,” Hogsett said.
He continued: “The city remains committed to working alongside business leaders and neighbors to continue attracting new investments that create quality jobs, increase opportunities for construction trade workers, further our economy’s growth and uplift our neighborhoods.”
The district’s councilor, Michael-Paul Hart, told attendees of Monday’s meeting that the council would postpone the public hearing until Oct. 6. In the event Google doesn’t go to the Metropolitan Development Commission and withdraw the petition, it would be considered by the council then.
Project faced widespread pushback
A video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday evening shows Hart announcing the news to an overflow crowd sitting in a room away from council chambers: “I was given notice by our council attorney that Google is withdrawing their petition.” The room erupted in applause.
Months ago, neighbors concerned about the development’s potential environmental impact and utility use formed a group called “Protect Franklin Township.” That group created a petition opposed to the project that netted more than 8,000 signatures and recently invested in digital billboard ads across Marion County.
In the weeks ahead of Monday’s public hearing, it appeared that the odds were not in the company’s favor.
Fifteen members of the council needed to vote against the rezoning request to overturn the Metropolitan Development Commission’s approval. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, at least 17 councilors had publicly said they would vote against the proposal. Only one, Democrat Ron Gibson, had spoken in support of the project.
Hart and members of Protect Franklin Township raised questions last week when Franklin Township Community School Corp. announced it would endorse the project, just weeks after the district wrote a letter to the development commission saying it would not support the development.
Google’s withdrawal was a win for Protect Franklin Township, but possibly just a temporary one. Organizer Andrew Filler said it has to stay vigilant since the Metropolitan Development Commission’s rules allow Google to refile the rezoning request after three months.
Brittany York, also with the group, told IBJ that it felt good to have the council chamber, two overflow rooms and the hallway dominated by people opposed to the data center.
“We’ll catch our breath, and then I’m sure they’re going to try to come back,” she said.
Filler, on the other hand, thinks the company won’t try again.
“We’ve got a big steam train running, and if they do we’re here,” Filler said. “We know what to do. We know how to band together.”
Even if it isn’t Google, York said the 460-plus-acres in the area will continue to attract companies, and the community will continue to push for a say in the property’s future.
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The NIMBYs strike back
Don’t look on this in such black and white terms. This allows Google to resubmit the project as soon as next month. If they allowed it to go to a vote, and it was denied, they are required by law to wait a year before they can file a new petition. It may not be dead yet.
Help them find a brownfield redevelopment site for the data center . Maybe the Elanco site in greenfield That will soon be left empty by Elanco’s move to the old GM stamping plant site in Indianapolis .
The Greenfield Elanco site was purchased by Pride Investment Partners LLC, Hancock Health, and NineStar Connect through a joint venture called HealthStar Partners.
Go up to Lebanon next to lilly
Have them find a brownfield site where they can put in their own power generation.
Chasing away development and jobs. Is AOC a Indy council member now?
All 50 jobs… that’s laughable. Do you hate AOC more than you love big corp? Check out the development in Michigan City, IN. Residents have the right to speak up against these types of projects.
If this site was bringing in lots of high-paying jobs for LOCAL residents, it would have been trumpted over and over.
Classic single-minded response
What jobs? What money? The handful of jobs that would probably be held by people who live outside of Marion County? In exchange for what? Higher electric bills, further strains on water, increased air pollution, and more ugly suburban sprawl?
Hard pass. We don’t need to cheapen ourselves for a multi-billion dollar corporation that can afford to mitigate all of their negative impacts but simply chooses not to.
Suburban spawl? What will be the residents’ reaction when the property is purchased to build more single-family homes? That will have much greater impact on the roads and traffic congestion.
Residents likely will pay more in taxes …
Is the old Firestone site in Noblesville large enough for this project? I’m sure a progressive, pro-development town like Noblesville, and HamCo in general, would welcome the 50 permanent jobs and the hundreds of construction jobs to build a massive structure on the southeast side of town…
Or perhaps some of the farm fields east of Fishers and Noblesville, east of SR37. All that road construction will make it easier to move materials to the site…there’s a lot of open ground just east of Noblesville north of 146th Street up past 32…
It would have taken the property off of property taxes for years. A net loss.
As a brownfield site, heavily polluted and with no viable, if any, structures, I don’t believe the Firestone site pays property taxes. As for the farm fields, I’m pretty certain as developers appear for those, there will be property tax concessions by the city, and other concessions by the county and state…if you don’t pay, or at least not tax, the piper, the piper won’t play at your venue…
If this data center paid for the new electricity infrastructure needed it would have been a great deal.
How do you know that’s not required? The ICC doesn’t control the utility’s actions.
I saw an article in which the president of AES promised developments like new data centers will not result in new construction the costs of which would fall upon the general user base. Now, if that’s serious, I’m sure if they agreed to that restriction with the URC, or perhaps a state statute, then it would all move forward. But I don’t think anyone wants to be stuck with the bill because AES had their fingers crossed behind their back…or to be the legislator or utility commissioner who approved a deal without that binding agreement.
With all disrespect to Indy ‘leadership’……..the east side has been dying both figuratively and literally. It’s desperate for decent new development. Indy can’t even approve a WAWA let alone a big time hi tech development. Terry Tallen has been trying to put new life into the evacuated Irvington Plaza for 5+ years and it’s still empty and useless. The city even ran Starzniak and her network show out of town with its over officious nitpicking. Your ‘progressives’ are anything but, more like ‘regressives’. By the way, how’s that new soccer deal coming along 😂
you da man and so it goes
Mayor Joe Hogsett, who had largely remained quiet on the proposed development, said in a written statement after Monday’s meeting that he respected Google’s decision. Continued decisive leadership by the mayor, who once again is playing safe for his political career and not for the city.
It is better than solar or wind projects wasting farm land.
Solar would offer more community benefit than a data center.
Heck, a distribution center would offer more jobs.
Solar panels harvesting sunshine year-round, when you can only grow corn a few months of the year? As far as wind, you can still farm on the land..
Looks they are heading to and being welcomed by those in charge in Monrovia. Good luck with that.
This is good news. Data centers do not provide any real jobs, and always raise local electric rates. They’re also large, noisy, and ugly.