SJC Area Plan Commission joins Town of New Carlisle in opposition to another hyperscale data center

NEW CARLISLE, Ind.-- New Carlisle is slated to see transformational growth as both Amazon Web Services and General Motors build in the area. But another possible data center project is seeing much pushback.

The St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission (APC) unanimously voted against the project this week. This means the zoning petition still moves on to the County Council next week, but it goes to the council with an unfavorable recommendation from the APC.

Developer Mall-o-Manor, LLC, is requesting that the land be rezoned from agricultural use to industrial. The land in question spans 1,057 acres in Olive Township, located west of the Honeysuckle Solar Farm, and directly neighboring 16 single-family homes, north of U.S.-20 and up to Chicago Trail.

The New Carlisle Town Council submitted a letter to the APC, writing in part, "The Town of New Carlisle is against any rezoning of more farmland to industrial outside the IEC."

IEC is referencing the Indiana Enterprise Center, an industrial park zoned for development back in 2020; that's where GM and Amazon are building now. This land proposed for rezoning is outside of but adjacent to the IEC.  

The town council also argues that this proposal goes against the St. Joseph County Comprehensive Plan and the New Carlisle 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

More than 20 residents spoke in opposition before this week's vote, bringing up issues ABC57 has heard before with data center projects: power concerns, water concerns, construction concerns, and the anguish over the loss of farmland.

ABC57's Annie Kate sat down with St. Joseph County Economic Director Bill Schalliol, who seems to largely disagree; he thinks it's a good project for the area.

"I think, long-term, the property owner has signaled an intention to sell the land, so if it doesn't sell to this project, it'll sell to another project at some point," Schalliol said.   

It's promising 300-400 full-time, high-paying jobs, Schalliol said, plus construction and auxiliary positions.

"We think this is a great opportunity, a great project, but again, it's got to fit. And so, obviously, the Area Plan Commission didn't feel it fit," he said. "The comprehensive plan has just been adopted, so it's in conflict with that. But I think, long-term, it's-- you know, we've got to look at the bigger picture." 

This rezoning petition still goes to the county council for a vote. It's on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting at the County-City Building in downtown South Bend, starting at 5:30 p.m.