Google requests permit for third phase of Fort Wayne data center

Google has filed a permit application with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for the third phase of its Fort Wayne data center campus. In the application, the tech giant seeks state approval to disturb legally protected waterways to build three new data center buildings, totaling 867,435 square feet. The project would affect waterways and wetlands on the campus, and Google is asking state regulators to approve plans to relocate a section of the Adams Ditch and temporarily disturb a tributary to the Doctor Ditch. Google plans to restore the stream after installing a sanitary sewer pipe. The proposal would also destroy a forested wetland of 0.84 acres, which Google plans to replace with a herbaceous wetland. The company said it would also purchase 160 linear feet of stream credits and 2.52 acres of forested wetland credits to offset the environmental impacts. If approved, Google plans to begin construction on the additional buildings in early 2027, with construction extending into 2030.