University of Michigan officials have confirmed they are reentering negotiations to find a site for a data center campus they are planning to construct in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Ypsilanti area.
The University of Michigan and national laboratory, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and best known for inventing the atomic bomb, for months have publicly stated they are planning to construct a $1.2-billion data center campus off Textile Road east of Bridge Road, and south of the Huron River. The campus would have two buildings — one for classified government research in artificial intelligence and other sciences and the other for non-classified research.
However, the university has also considered locating it on the former site of a General Motors facility west of Willow Run Airport, officials confirmed Tuesday, Aug. 19.
It wasn’t until recently that township officials learned the university had already spent months negotiating with American Center for Mobility, which leases land west of the airport. They have been opposed to locating it off Textile Road.
“Township officials asked if the university would re-evaluate a potential site at the American Center for Mobility,” Chris Kolb, the university’s vice president for government relations, said in a statement.
The site west of the airport “had been investigated and reviewed for a lengthy time and the university had decided to move on with other more viable sites,” Kolb said.
“However, at the request of the Township, U-M has re-engaged with ACM to evaluate the viability of their site for this facility,” he said. “We will be keeping the Township informed of our re-evaluation with ACM officials.”
However, the Textile Road land remains the university’s preferred location.
“The area’s existing light industrial zoning, wide roads, and infrastructure make it well suited for this purpose, and our preliminary site plan positions the buildings to maximize distance from nearby parks and protect natural features,” Kolb said.
He also said the majority of the site would not be disturbed, and data center buildings would be closer to Textile Road to preserve natural features and provide distance between South and North Hydro parks.
“The university is committed to building and operating this facility in a way that would protect the Huron River and minimize noise, emissions and other environmental impacts,” he said.
Township attorney Doug Winters had harsh words for the university at Tuesday’s township Board of Trustees meeting.
Winters said he learned in late July the university had spent about a year and a half trying to negotiate locating the data center west of the airport, and the township has been left in the dark about many details of the data center project.
The township is not part of negotiations and is limited in what they can do to stop the project because the university is exempt from local zoning regulations and isn’t required to get township site plan approvals.
Winters also said the university performed a “bait and switch.”
When the university applied for a $100-million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the plan was for a 20-acre data center site off Textile Road.
However, after being awarded the grant, the university Board of Regents on June 12 authorized the purchase of about 124 acres of land at 10455 and 10635 Textile Road to the east.
The data center has faced fierce opposition, including a grassroots movement growing in the Ypsilanti area.
Some township officials had protesters show up at their residences, which intimidated their families, over the weekend.
While township officials oppose locating the data center campus on Textile Road, they are more open to it being located west of the airport.
The township board took several actions Tuesday to oppose locating it on Textile Road, including unanimously voting to approve a resolution opposing that location.
“The full-time elected officials have voiced our opposition, and that of our fellow Board Members, to this project being constructed on this identified site for a variety of reasons,” according to a memo to the board from the township’s supervisor, clerk, and treasurer.
Those reasons include “environmental concerns, health concerns, safety concerns and noise concerns that we believe are detrimental to the well-being of township residents, business owners and visitors to our community,” the memo states.
But some residents who spoke during public comments at Tuesday’s meeting said the township should fight back against all data centers at any location.
Some voiced fears about classified government research and the national laboratory’s involvement.
Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said the former GM site is more appropriate due to its history of heavier industrial uses.
The Ann Arbor News/MLive is reviewing comments made by residents and township officials Tuesday night.
The township board also voted to hire environmental attorney Grant Trigger of Wolverine Development Consultants at a rate of $300 per hour.
Trigger would help the township prepare for a relocation of the data center project, depending on whether the university negotiates a deal with American Center for Mobility. He would also be available to analyze an environmental review should the university and national laboratory continuing pursuing the Textile Road location.
The township board also voted to authorize their attorneys to prepare for potential action should the university continue to pursue the Textile Road site, and attend any meeting about the data center campus, including meetings of the Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority.
In addition, the township board also voted to direct the township’s planning commission to consider amending the local zoning ordinance to limit where any future data centers would be allowed in the township.
Currently, data centers are allowed on township land zoned for industrial and commercial revitalization (ICR), including the site west of the airport. They are also allowed on land zoned for logistics and manufacturing (LM), like the Textile Road location. The planning commission would look into only allowing them on ICR land and not on LM land.
The ICR district in the township includes land bordered by Wiard Road and Interstate 94. That area is also closer to the Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority, which the data center campus would have to connect to for water services.
The university and national laboratory plan for the data center campus to become fully operational by 2030 with construction starting in 2026.
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