Proposed data center gets site approval from Van Buren Planning Commission
A computer data center campus proposal landed a significant approval on Wednesday for a site near Interstate 94 and Haggerty Road in Wayne County, Michigan.
The Van Buren Township Planning Commission approved the site plan for the development known as Project Cannoli on Wednesday, with a 5-2 vote. This is only one step in the process, although a major one.
The matter now goes to the Van Buren Township Board for another vote. An approval at the township board step will let it proceed.
The property is currently owned by a company called Triple Creek Associates and is under agreement with Panattoni. The data center would be for "a Fortune 50 company with global data center operations," the developer says.
According to township documents, the developer plans to construct three data center buildings on the property.
When fully operational, the facility would use between 2 and 3.6 million gallons of water a day. The data center would purchase that water from Van Buren Township through its connections to the Great Lakes Water Authority. A 24-inch water main is proposed for the connections to a 42-inch water main near Tyler Road and Haggerty Road. Both the township engineers and GLWA engineers have studied that technical ability and have determined the water lines can handle the load, the township says.
There is an eagle nest on the property. Township officials said the site plan currently calls for a 200-foot buffer around the nest location. Overall, about half the site will remain as open space to include wetlands and wildlife corridors, the developer said.
DTE has also addressed questions on the electricity demand and reliability in documents on file with the township.
"State law and Michigan's regulated utility market offers protections to DTE customers from bearing any costs associated with data centers," the utility said. "In fact, existing customers are positioned to benefit when these large energy centers join the electrical system that serves southeast Michigan."
Further discussions and reviews have taken place on lighting, ground vibration and diesel exhaust.
The project will result in about 1,500 construction jobs and over 50 permanent jobs in the community, according to a collection of documents that Van Buren Township has posted on its website on the matter.
Most of the site under consideration for Project Cannoli, including the location of the expected buildings, is already zoned M-1, Light Industrial, Van Buren Township officials said. M-1 zoning allows for "high tech, data processing, and computer centers."
Therefore, township officials said, there is no zoning change needed.
Van Buren Township officials said they consulted with legal counsel regarding questions from the community on whether a moratorium to stop or slow the process can be invoked. This step was recently invoked by the City of Sterling Heights.
But Van Buren Township officials said their options are limited because appropriate zoning already is in effect for the requested location. In addition, a site plan was submitted before any such moratorium was in effect for Van Buren Township.
The state of Michigan allowed a series of tax breaks in 2024 that have spurred interest in data center projects, and the state House Subcommittee on Oversight recently heard testimony about the impact of those data centers.
