KIRKLIN, Ind. – A proposed data center was a topic of discussion at the Kirklin Community Center Tuesday evening during a “Coffee with the Commish” hosted by Clinton County Commissioner President Jordan Brewer.
Brewer first learned about the data center project at the end of May during a Partners in Progress (PIP) meeting, a key group for economic development in Clinton County comprising both county and city elected officials. While most economic development proposals typically take two to three years to develop, this data center project was an exception, moving very rapidly.
Initially, developers indicated their desire to locate the data center within the city of Frankfort, not the county. Brewer “pushed back” against this idea, stating he would “never support annexation.” His opposition stems from a past annexation that took place along the I-65 and State Road 28 corridor, where the county developed infrastructure only for the city to annex the area, leading to a near-doubling of taxes (approximately 2.65% city rate), which Brewer believes “hurt the development in that area.”
Following that initial meeting, Brewer reported having no further direct communication with the developer. He later learned, via screenshots, that the developer was proceeding with a city planning commission meeting for 700 acres, a development that caused the situation to “blow up.” Furthermore, no county official was invited to the developer’s social event, and the county has largely been “on the exterior of any conversations lately.”
Brewer described to attendees that a data center “just houses a lot of computers that are going to service all these AI systems” and involves “a lot of processors.” He noted that the county is dealing with a real estate company that procures sites, not the actual “end user” like Google, Meta, Apple, or Amazon. The developer had initially stated they “weren’t coming here if they didn’t have a thousand acres.”
Specific details regarding water usage for cooling and electricity were not discussed in the initial meeting, commented Brewer. Concerns about aquifer studies and water reuse were raised by a participant, which Brewer acknowledged as unknowns, expecting utilities to conduct such studies. He also mentioned unverified reports that modern data centers are “more efficient than they’ve ever been,” using less water and more air cooling.
The financial impact of the project remains uncertain due to recent state legislature changes, particularly Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which is reforming how property tax and county revenue function. The county is “in flux” and does not “even know the rules to the game going into the future” regarding economic development, as revenue appears to be shifting more towards income tax than property tax.
While the project is expected to provide assessed value, Brewer is unsure about the accuracy of job creation claims, as the initial presentation was “high level” and lacked such details.
Brewer also noted that data centers are a “pretty contentious” topic in other areas. Adding, this specific project was “rejected in Greenfield, Indiana,” and he heard of another contentious one in Morgan County. Personally, Brewer believes it would be “better as a city project” due to its geography, as the first 115 acres are already within the city and it physically touches the city.
Financially, the county would be in “basically the same position regardless if it’s a county project or a city project” because the county collects assessed value revenue through a TIF district on the difference between current and new assessed value, irrespective of jurisdiction.
Current Project Status and Location:
* The proposed site is described as “a little northwest of Frito Lay”.
* The developer, Logix Reality, LLC, has since pulled their zoning permit for an upcoming meeting on Wednesday.
* Brewer believes the developer is attempting to “start over the process” by bringing the project through county zoning via the Area Planning Commission.
* The proposed location is north of Conagra, encompassing 700 to 800 acres.
* An additional 115 acres to the east of Conagra have already been rezoned and are currently within the city of Frankfort.
* According to Brewer, the reported financial value of the development changes “daily,” ranging from a billion to four billion to ten billion dollars, with no clarification provided since the original meeting.
