Will data centers impact property values? Depends on who you ask

Residents of Decatur Township on the southwest side of Indianapolis, led by community members like Randy Poynter and Ashley Hooley, are challenging the approval of a massive 1.1 million-square-foot data center by Sabey Data Centers. The project, planned near Camby Road and Kentucky Avenue, has sparked significant opposition over fears of water contamination, noise pollution, and diminished property values. The Metropolitan Development Commission approved two crucial zoning variances for Sabey on March 18, allowing the company to proceed with the city's first hyperscale data center. Sabey's attorney, Mindy Westrick Brown of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, presented studies from an appraiser, George Mason University researcher Terry Clower, and Integra Realty Resources, arguing that the project would not negatively impact residential property values. However, opponents, including Pat Andrews of the Decatur Township Civic Council and the grassroots organization Protect Decatur Township, contend that Sabey's studies failed to adequately prove no negative impact. They highlight limitations in the presented data, such as Clower's Northern Virginia study being specific to a unique housing market and the Integra Realty Resources study showing mixed results across different Indiana counties and including pre-announcement data. Residents are now seeking to raise $2,000 by April 17 to file a judicial review, hoping to demonstrate that the commission's approval of the zoning petition was wrongful.