A data center campus proposed by DC Blox in eastern Indianapolis has moved forward in the approval process after a hearing examiner issued a recommendation in favor of the project, setting up a final decision before the city's Metropolitan Development Commission next month.

Examiner Backs Project, Commission Vote Set for July 1

Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission Hearing Examiner Judy Weerts Hall declared on June 11 that the proposed development should be approved.

Because DC Blox is applying for a use variance, a zoning exception that allows a property to be used in a way prohibited under existing zoning laws, the final decision rests with the Metropolitan Development Commission rather than the Indianapolis City-County Council.

That commission is scheduled to meet on July 1. The recommendation does not guarantee approval. An appeal has already been filed against the hearing examiner's recommendation, and a community petition opposing the campus had gathered more than 1,500 signatures at the time of publication.

A Three-Building Campus on a Former Ford Site

DC Blox is proposing to build three data center buildings on a 32-acre parcel within the Thunderbird Commerce Center at 305 Fintail Drive, located next to the Irvington neighborhood on the east side of Indianapolis.

The first building would be approximately 80,000 square feet, the second approximately 140,000 square feet, and the third approximately 190,000 square feet, bringing the total footprint to 420,000 square feet.

The company has said the campus will be constructed in two phases, beginning with the smallest of the three facilities.

DC Blox estimates the total investment in the campus will fall between USD 2 billion and USD 2.2 billion.

The site itself carries industrial history.

The Thunderbird Commerce Center was formerly home to a Ford Visteon manufacturing operation, which closed in 2007 and was subsequently demolished in 2017.

Power Demands and Developer Commitments

DC Blox has stated that the campus will have a peak power demand of approximately 80 to 100 megawatts. The company has also indicated it will cover the costs of any infrastructure upgrades and energy production capacity required to serve the project.

In an effort to address community concerns, DC Blox published a statement of commitments tied to the development.

Those commitments include the implementation of a closed-loop system, limits on building heights, adherence to noise standards, and an explicit prohibition on using the facility for cryptocurrency mining.

Indianapolis Continues Approving Large-Scale Data Center Projects

The DC Blox proposal is the latest in a string of major data center decisions in the Indianapolis area. In March, the city approved a USD 4 billion data center project for construction in Decatur Township in southwestern Indianapolis.

In April, a USD 500 million, 72-megawatt data center received approval for construction in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood in northeast Indianapolis.

If the DC Blox campus ultimately receives approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission, it would add significantly to the region's growing data center footprint at a time when Indianapolis appears to be emerging as a notable destination for such investment.

DC Blox's Broader Portfolio and National Controversies

DC Blox is a US-based company with data center facilities in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, and Georgia, as well as cable landing stations in South Carolina and Florida.

The company states its total footprint amounts to 470 megawatts and 2.78 million square feet across 23 facilities.

The Indianapolis proposal is not the only DC Blox project drawing scrutiny.

The company has faced substantial public opposition over its plans to build a 24-acre data center adjacent to the Nashville Zoo in Tennessee.

Both the Nashville Zoo and country music artist Brad Paisley have publicly opposed that project. A petition against the Nashville facility had gathered more than 430,000 signatures at the time of publication, with approximately 40,000 of those added within the previous week alone.

The level of opposition in Nashville dwarfs what DC Blox faces in Indianapolis, though the Irvington community's resistance has still been described as fierce.

The combination of a formal appeal against the hearing examiner's recommendation and the growing petition count signals that DC Blox will face continued pressure before the Metropolitan Development Commission renders its decision on July 1.