This golf course’s new owners are building $16 billion data center next door
Related Digital, a data center developer, purchased Rustic Glen Golf Club in Saline, Michigan, adjacent to its $16 billion data center project, The Barn. The company assured the golf course will remain open, despite prior community concerns about data center noise, power, and water usage. The data center project, being built for OpenAI and Oracle, faced strong local opposition and a lawsuit over zoning before being approved.
Related Digital, a data center developer, has acquired Rustic Glen Golf Club in Saline, Michigan, a farming community near Ann Arbor. The purchase comes as the company is constructing a controversial $16 billion data center, named The Barn, next to the golf course. The developer, based in New York, has committed to keeping the 18-hole public golf course operational and has no plans for layoffs, according to Scott Schimmoeller, the club's general manager, and a letter from Related Digital.
The Barn project, being built on behalf of OpenAI and cloud service giant Oracle, has faced significant community opposition since late last year. Saline town officials initially denied rezoning farmland for the project, but this decision was reversed after Related Digital and local landowners filed a lawsuit alleging "exclusionary zoning." Oracle also secured a 50 percent tax reduction for the project, which is slated for completion in 2027, with Related Digital agreeing to donate $14 million to the township and local fire departments. Concerns about data center noise, power, and water consumption remain among some residents, though the golf course's prior owner, Corey Byron, expects noise to be manageable due to the campus's size.