Digital Crossroads Indiana Digital Data Center in Hammond, Indiana. While 11 data centers were planned to be built in Indiana from companies such as Google, Amazon and Meta, grassroots resistance has begun to emerge from local residents against the increased traffic, water usage and electricity. Photo from Digital Crossroads.

News Release

NORTHERN INDIANA — A year ago, Wendy Reigel was just learning what a data center was. Now, the former schoolteacher is part of a growing grassroots movement that has helped stall the rapid expansion of billion-dollar data center projects across northwest Indiana.

Reigel first heard of plans for a massive data center adjacent to her home in Chesterton from a neighbor. Concerned by what she found in her research, which included noise, environmental strain, and a potential drop in property values, she began organizing opposition. By June 2024, Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors had withdrawn its $1.3 billion proposal.

That reversal was unusual at the time. Since Indiana lawmakers passed generous tax incentives for data centers in 2019 — including breaks that can last up to 50 years — major tech companies have poured into the state. Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have all broken ground or announced large-scale developments, drawn by low taxes, affordable land, and strong utility infrastructure.

But more recently, community-led resistance has slowed that trend. Projects have been scrapped in Chesterton, nearby Burns Harbor and Valparaiso. In Kosciusko County, elected officials unanimously rejected a rezoning request for a Prologis data center in April, citing overwhelming public opposition.

Reagan Templin, who helped organize the resistance in Kosciusko County, said organizers were trying to protect the community from the downsides of a new, large-scale industrial operation: water loss, a large draw on electricity, increased traffic and so on.

Although the failed proposals differ in location and developer, one pattern is clear: local backlash. In northwest Indiana’s more urban areas, residents in upper-middle class subdivisions voiced concerns over aesthetics and property values. In rural Kosciusko County, farmers feared losing prime agricultural land.

Reigel’s activism didn’t end with Chesterton. When Provident shifted its focus to Burns Harbor, others sought her advice. She describes her role as that of an educator rather than a leader, helping neighbors understand the stakes of data center development.

Opponents across communities share a common frustration: the secretive nature of the projects. Often, they are cloaked in non-disclosure agreements with unnamed end users, creating distrust. Community division can also emerge when local landowners consider selling property to developers.

In Kosciusko County, Prologis sought to buy land from Tim Polk, a longtime local resident. That decision stung for neighbors like Jamie Moneyheffer, whose family has lived nearby for over a century.

To counter the projects, residents turned to social media. Reigel and others launched a Facebook group that now has more than 3,300 members tracking data center developments in the region. Templin created “Keep Leesburg Rural,” a Facebook group used to mobilize her community. She and her husband even traveled to New Carlisle to film Amazon’s site there, producing a political-style ad opposing the Prologis proposal.

While online engagement helped build momentum, activists emphasized direct outreach. Reigel and Templin encouraged residents to contact local zoning boards and elected officials. In Kosciusko County, opposition groups even pooled funds to hire a lawyer to speak at public meetings.

Community turnout followed. Meetings were packed with sign-waving residents, and officials took notice. After a contentious session in March, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announced that developer Agincourt had pulled its zoning request. Commissioner Bob Conley cited community feedback when voting against Prologis’ project on April 22.

For Templin and others in Kosciusko County, the decision brought relief. But for Reigel, the work continues: another data center has been proposed in the Porter County town of Wheeler.