South Bend Mayor James Mueller, some common council members, and organized labor leaders held a press conference Tuesday outlining a framework they’ll put in place to attract more data centers to the city.
They held the press conference at the former Studebaker plant, where owner Kevin Smith has operated a smaller scale data center for years. Answering questions from reporters, Mueller repeatedly said there’s no data center project to announce yet but he hopes there will be some in the future.
“We believe strongly that data center investment can strengthen our city but only when neighborhoods are put first,” Mueller said.
Mueller said he invites public feedback on the issue until the end of the month. He said his administration will draft a policy framework that will prohibit non-disclosure agreements and require new data centers to use organized labor in construction. Data centers larger than 70 megawatts or 15 acres would have to meet minimum operating standards for things like power generation, wastewater quality, lighting and noise.
“We are making a commitment that 100% of the data center revenue would go back into neighborhoods, split evenly between neighborhood infrastructure and affordable housing, as well as neighborhood infrastructure and utility relief.”
