Kenmara developer will axe data center provisions in Munster proposal
The developer of the Kenmara Technology Park in Munster, Indiana, Saxon Partners/SPIN Munster, has decided to remove data center provisions from its proposal for the former Lansing Country Club property. This decision comes after significant community backlash and division over the potential inclusion of data centers. The firm will now explicitly identify data centers as a prohibited use in its application.
Munster, Indiana, officials announced Friday that the developer of the proposed Kenmara Technology Park, Saxon Partners, LLC on behalf of SPIN Munster, LLC, will remove all data center provisions from its future plans for the former Lansing Country Club property. The decision follows significant community backlash and packed public meetings where the possibility of data centers at the 59-acre site generated "significant concern, uncertainty, and division."
Gary Warfel, Development Director for Saxon Partners, informed Town Council President Joe Hofferth via letter that the firm would formally remove the "Data Center Special Exception section" and designate data centers as a "Prohibited Use" within the application. The revisions are expected to be filed next week.
The Munster Plan Commission had previously tabled an ordinance that would have allowed data centers as a special exception use during a contentious July 14 meeting and was scheduled to reconsider it on August 11. Warfel stated that while there was no immediate data center proposal, the property was too small for a hyperscale facility. The developer concluded that prohibiting data centers was the most constructive step to allow planning for the property's long-term future to continue without further contention.