Panattoni Proposes 1-Gigawatt Data Center Campus Near Detroit Amid Industry Expansion and Local Scrutiny
December 18, 2025
The race to build digital infrastructure to support surging demand from artificial intelligence and cloud computing is pushing developers into new markets, with the Great Lakes region emerging as a focal point. This expansion is testing the balance between economic development and community concerns over land use and resource consumption.
Logistics real estate giant Panattoni has unveiled plans to develop a massive data center campus with a potential capacity of up to 1 gigawatt (GW) in Van Buren Township, Michigan, on the western outskirts of Detroit. According to local press reports and site plans reviewed by outlets including MLive and WEMU, the project, internally dubbed "Project Cannoli," targets a 282-acre parcel of land north of Interstate 94 and east of Haggerty Road. Preliminary plans indicate the campus would comprise three buildings and an on-site electrical substation.
The scale of the proposed development is significant, aligning with Panattoni's stated North American ambition to develop 1 GW of data center capacity by 2030. The company, traditionally focused on industrial and logistics warehousing with a global portfolio exceeding 58 million square meters, has been strategically building a dedicated data center division. This move follows its formation of a European data center team earlier this year and other projects, including a planned 48-megawatt campus outside Barcelona.
The proposal has met with notable local opposition. A recent township meeting was filled with residents voicing concerns, and a related online petition has garnered over 1,100 signatures. In response, Panattoni's head of data centers, Adam Kramer, emphasized community engagement during the meeting. "We've been talking to the community, understanding what they want and what they don't," Kramer stated. He defended the site selection, noting, "What we did was the opposite. We went out and found industrial land that was zoned for data centers by right, which means the township's master plan said this is where we want data centers."
The news coincides with a separate expansion filing in the same township by established operator US Signal. The company, acquired by Igneo Infrastructure Partners in 2023, is seeking approval to modify and continue the phased construction of its existing data center on Haggerty Road. The revised plan would expand the facility to a total of approximately 87,100 square feet. US Signal currently operates a 9,500-mile fiber network and about 16 data centers across several U.S. states.
The concurrent activity near Detroit underscores the broader industry trend of seeking available power and land in markets beyond traditional hubs like Northern Virginia. For Michigan, it represents a potential influx of capital investment and high-tech jobs. However, it also highlights growing organized resistance, as seen with the non-profit Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan's campaign to ban new data centers in the state. The outcome of Panattoni's proposal will serve as a key indicator of how emerging data center markets navigate the complex interplay of infrastructure demand, zoning policy, and community acceptance.
Source: datacenterdynamics
