In October 2024, Microsoft bought more than 300 acres from office furniture maker Steelcase for $45 million dollars, then purchased a smaller adjacent piece of land Patterson Avenue near 76th Street.
Now, Microsoft is requesting rezoning for the smaller parcel from large-scale planned unit development to light industrial.
Together they can be used for a data center.Dan Wells is the Gaines Township Community Development Director.
“We've had some very general discussions, and we understand that that's their intent, but we haven't been provided with any specific plans, so we don't have a whole lot of information for the general public.”
Statewide, data centers have become controversial. However, in Gaines Township, where Switch has been operating one for nearly seven years at the former Steelcase Pyramid building, Wells says residents are accustomed to industrial use and data center concerns.
“The area is connected to utilities. The Pyramid itself used about 10,000,000 gallons of water last year. Sounds like a lot but if you put that in perspective, one of our local carwashes used about 7 1/2 million gallons last year so it's a little bit more than say, a car wash.”
He says the township has benefited from the taxable value and expects an additional data center will provide similar impacts.
The township planning commission is hosting a public hearing on the re-zoning request Thursday, December 18.
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