The City of Southfield is considering a proposal for a new 110,000-square-foot data center, and a presentation was made at Monday night's Southfield City Council meeting. 

"We make decisions based for the betterment of Southfield overall, which means that we need to make sure that our community feels comfortable," Charles Hicks, Southfield City Council president, said. 

The proposed land is located on Inkster Road between 11 Mile and Interstate 696.

The city already has five data centers. Unlike proposed data centers in Howell and Saline Township that have sparked protests, the new Southfield data center would be a lot smaller. That's why Mayor Ken Siver says he supports the plan.

"They're all small. They're tucked into buildings. You drive by, you don't know that there's a data center there," Siver said. "This supports business, and obviously we want to keep our offices occupied, so this is it's a critical piece of infrastructure." 

Hicks says he asked developer Metrobloks to come back with more information.

"One thing that I had asked him to do was to prepare us data that shows how his solution differs. What technologies are they putting in place that, you know, have them function differently than the other data centers?" Hicks said.

The developer mentioned the facility would recycle its water.

"From a water perspective, it's minimal that once they've consumed, they keep repurposing and utilizing that existing water," Hicks said.

A DTE substation is right next to the proposed site, and across the street would be a residential subdivision. That's why the city council pushed back on energy consumption.

"He compared it to the utilization of our average home, not that of a commercial complex," Hicks said. 

Hicks says he's not ready to decide on the proposal yet. 

"I think I gave them the ask, but what they come back with will then determine how quickly or slowly or if it doesn't happen," he said. 

A vote on the proposal is still pending. The next city council meeting is next Monday night. The council said it seeks public comment.