40 acres of land could be added to potential new facility.
Microsoft could expand its landholdings in Indiana in order to construct a larger data center.
As reported by the South Bend Tribune, the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission this week recommended approval for the proposed land rezoning. It will now go to the St. Joseph County Council for final approval.The proposal aims to rezone 40 acres of land located southwest of the intersection of Cleveland Road and Currant Road. It currently functions as a cultivated farm field.
These 40 acres are surrounded by 929 acres of land bought last year for $77.5 million by Microsoft. The larger portion of land previously belonged to St. Joe Farms. The company intends to build a data center campus on the combined land, though details about the project have not been shared.
The land is currently owned by Heritage Land Operations LLC.
The commission, voting 6-1 in favor of the petition, wrote that the poor agricultural suitability of the land, the limited nature of sewer and water services, and “extremely sparse nearby residential use [made] industrial development… the most desirable use for this property.”
There was some opposition to the proposed rezoning. Concerns were voiced about the possibility of more land being rezoned in the future, the effect of increased traffic during the building process, whether jobs would be created, electricity requirements, the protection of agricultural land, and the effect on the nearby Juday Creek.
Further details about any planned data centers on this plot were not provided.
Microsoft recently walked back several of its planned data center builds and leases globally. The company has reportedly canceled around 2GW of data center projects in the last few months, including projects in North America, APAC, and the UK.
Most recently, this included pausing its planned $1 billion campus in Licking County, Ohio.
Brokerage TD Cowen first brought attention to the matter, with analysts from the company speculating that the "lease cancellations and deferrals of capacity points to data center oversupply relative to its current demand forecast.”
Despite this, Microsoft has maintained that it is strategically pacing its plans, and continues to be on track for $80bn in spending on data centers and AI infrastructure this year.
Meta, US Signals, DataBank, Netrality, and Digital Crossroads all have a presence in Indiana.
