First Microsoft data center-related commercial development planned
A developer is seeking to rezone land at Capital Avenue and Douglas Road in Mishawaka for a small shopping center intended to serve employees of the nearby Microsoft data center. St. Joseph County planning staff recommended approval, subject to connecting to future city water and sewer service and adding right-of-way for traffic.
A developer plans to ask the St. Joseph County Plan Commission to rezone the southeast corner of Capital Avenue and Douglas Road from residential to commercial. The proposed shopping center would include three tenants, including a retail space, a business, and a drive-thru restaurant, and is the first commercial development explicitly planned to support employees of the Microsoft data center under construction about a quarter-mile away.
The site is within Mishawaka Utilities’ drinking-water wellhead protection area, requiring state approval for its wastewater plans. County planning staff recommended approval because the property lies within the 10-year time-of-travel area, while also requiring the developer to connect to city water and sewer once those services are extended to the data center and to provide an additional 100 feet of right-of-way along Douglas Road.