WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Following an extensive five-hour debate, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission granted preliminary site approval for a major data center project in a 5-2 vote.
The facility will be located east of Haggerty Road and north of I-94 North Service Drive.
The one-gigawatt facility, which will occupy over 280 acres, is comparable in scale to the recently announced AI data center project in Saline Township.
The development plan includes three data processing and computer center buildings, one administrative office building, and one network service building.
A seven-acre substation will also be part of the complex and will require separate site approval.
Developer Panattoni has implemented several measures to address community concerns.
Adam Kramer, head of data centers for Panattoni Development, assured residents about water usage, stating that the facility will use the Great Lakes Water Authority transmission system rather than the residential distribution system.
“These are large, oversized systems today that have an incredible amount of excess capacity,” Kramer said. “So it won’t impact water pressure, it will benefit water rates, and it helps to increase the energy efficiency of this project.”
DTE Director of Policy and Regional Affairs Dan Mahoney also gave a presentation at the meeting, assuring commissioners and residents that residential utility bills would not be affected by the project’s operations.
The project has garnered mixed reactions from community members. While some residents expressed support for the economic benefits, others raised concerns about the facility’s undisclosed end user.
“Scale matters, intensity matters, community impact matters,” said resident Laura Kurkowski during public comments. “We also know this project requires massive electrical infrastructure, including substations on the property. If we don’t know which company is the buyer, we cannot be sure what they will do with that in the future.”
“We need this data center. It will help the community,” said resident Steve Avery. “Just think of all the people that are going to be working there, that are going to be bringing their money. This is good paying jobs.”
Developers say the project is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the region.
According to Kramer, it will become the largest taxpayer in Van Buren Township and rank among the top five taxpayers in Wayne County, even with tax abatements.
“For every employee we have, they’re producing 20 times the tax revenue of an employee under any other job,” Kramer said.
Commissioners said the project falls under “use by right” under Michigan zoning law, meaning the Planning Commission must approve it if it meets all requirements of the zoning ordinance.
The project must now secure Township Board approval of the development agreement before returning to the Planning Commission for final site plan approval.
You can learn more about the project here.