Microsoft data center

The St. Joseph County Area Plan staff has recommended approval of the small shopping center at Douglas Road and Capital Avenue, with two conditions.

South Bend Common Council members Oliver Davis Jr. and Sherry Bolden-Simpson introduced a bill to bar city staff from entering into secretive agreements about projects after learning members of Mayor James Mueller's team signed agreements with Amazon in 2023 regarding their data center.

An agreement before St. Joseph County commissioners Tuesday would require the county, city of Mishawaka and Microsoft to find an alternative funding source for water infrastructure if the county council won't approve a tax incremental financing district.

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner worries a data center ban could trigger lawsuits from developers that will increase the county's legal costs. But Republican Council Member Amy Drake says he's being too cautious on the issue.

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner says he sees how unpopular data centers are with his constituents but he says council members' first priority should be to follow Indiana laws.

The nonprofit We Make Indiana on Thursday said it's wrong for a wealthy corporation like Microsoft to receive tax breaks while a growing number of people across Michiana are struggling.

We Make Indiana organizers say that since the Indiana General Assembly has exempted data centers from paying sales tax, they should spend some of their hundreds of millions of dollars in tax savings to help meet the growing needs of citizens in St. Joseph County.

While the Amazon and Microsoft data centers are coming, the St. Joseph County Council now seems to have majority support for a ban on new hyperscale data centers.

St. Joseph County is managing the water extension project and Microsoft is paying for it, and then the city of Mishawaka will assume ownership and maintenance of the new water lines.

Republicans on the St. Joseph County Council are calling for a two-year data center moratorium, while Democrats and the business community say that would jeopardize local control on major land use projects and close the door to future economic growth.