Overview
- The Van Buren Township Planning Commission voted Thursday to approve final site plans for a Google data center campus on a 282-acre site north of I-94, allowing multi‑phase construction to continue into early 2027.
- Nearby residents say active construction has produced heavy noise and dust that has hurt daily life and property conditions, and many told officials they felt their concerns were not fully heard during the review process.
- Panattoni, the developer for the project, says it has spent tens of millions of dollars on redesigns to reduce impacts and that the campus will bring jobs and tax revenue to the area.
- Utilities and regulators have cleared key infrastructure steps: ITC is building an underground transmission line to connect the site to DTE and state permits and an energy contract have been approved with conditions intended to protect ratepayers and wetlands.
- The decision comes as other Michigan communities have imposed moratoria or are rewriting rules for data centers, a trend that could prompt new state or local limits on noise, water use, grid upgrades and who pays for those costs.