Developer Withdraws Major Data Center Proposal in Michigan Amid Local Opposition December 9, 2025 A significant data center development linked to tech giant Meta has been halted in Michigan, highlighting the growing challenges hyperscale projects face from community opposition over environmental and procedural concerns. The proposal for a large-scale data center campus in Howell Township, Michigan, has been formally withdrawn by its developers. The project, spearheaded by Stantec Consulting Michigan and Randee LLC, aimed to construct a facility on a 1,000-acre parcel at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Fleming Road. The developers cited a desire to "honor the current moratorium" enacted by local authorities in late November as the reason for pulling their rezoning application, which was slated for consideration on December 8. While the identity of the intended anchor tenant was never officially confirmed, multiple industry reports identified Meta as the hyperscaler behind the planned development. The withdrawal came despite the township attorney, Christopher Patterson, noting that the rezoning request could have proceeded, though the subsequent site plan would have been stalled. The move is widely viewed as a tactical pause, with local authorities expecting the proposal to be revisited at a later date. The scale of the opposition played a decisive role. Local residents, organized through Facebook groups like 'Stop the Data Centers,' voiced intense concerns regarding the project's potential energy and water consumption, as well as environmental impacts. An online petition gathered over 3,700 signatures, demonstrating significant community pushback. This case mirrors a national trend where data center expansions, crucial for supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads, are increasingly meeting organized resistance at the municipal level. The episode underscores a critical tension in the industry's rapid growth: balancing infrastructure demands with local community values and resource constraints. For Meta and other hyperscalers, such setbacks may necessitate more proactive community engagement and a heightened focus on sustainable site selection strategies as they continue their build-out across North America. Source: datacenterdynamics
Developer Withdraws Major Data Center Proposal in Michigan Amid Local Opposition
