A controversial data center proposal near New Carlisle might not seem very close to the city of Mishawaka, but Mayor Dave Wood says he supports the project.
The New York-based developer needs a rezoning to build a data center on over 1,000 acres of farmland near New Carlisle along Chicago Trail. The Area Plan Commission has unanimously given the project an unfavorable recommendation to the county council for their vote planned for Dec. 9.
Opponents say they want to protect that farmland, after losing so much of it to industrial projects already approved, and they worry about the burden on water and electricity.
A Virginia-based public relations firm this week contacted WVPE and offered an interview with Wood. We asked him his thoughts on the opponents’ concerns.
“I really am not in touch with the issues that New Carlisle or some of the areas out there are facing, so I really can’t speak to that at all," Wood says. "I’m just saying that these projects bring billions to our community, and they are good for our tax base, they’re good for economic development, they’re good for creating jobs.”
