Michigan City, Indiana
In development

This site offers a rare combination of a skilled local workforce, existing infrastructure, and strong regional connectivity.

Paired with northwest Indiana’s experienced labor pool, this site allows us to invest sustainably while bringing long-term careers and economic momentum to the community.

By reusing an existing structure, the project reduces environmental impact and avoids building on untouched green space. The campus also connects directly to existing power, water, and wastewater capacity, ensuring our facility operates reliably without straining local systems. The location also enables low-latency connectivity, is geographically stable, and is being designed specifically for the site and community.

Paired with northwest Indiana’s skilled workforce and a business-friendly environment, the area allows us to invest sustainably while bringing long-term careers and economic momentum to the community.

Great question — Phoenix Investors and Google are two parts of the same story for this site. Phoenix acquired the property and leads the remediation and construction, transforming the site into a dedicated facility built with real purpose.

Google recognized this potential and decided to invest here. Once construction is complete, Google will manage and operate the site, becoming a long-term neighbor and community collaborator for years to come.

It’s a fair question, and the numbers tell a reassuring story.

Communities with data centers are seeing home values rise 14 to 15 percent, compared to about 10% nationally. Job growth in these communities have also grown steadily, even in areas where a site is still being built.

This project brings $26.1 million in direct impact to Michigan City. Support that flows directly into the systems and services our community depends on includes:

• $1 million grant to the Economic Development Corporation of Michigan City (EDCMC) — fueling local economic development efforts that help Michigan City grow and thrive.
• $100,000 to the Sanitary District — funding downstream infrastructure improvements that keep our water systems safe, reliable, and ready for the future.
• $5.5 million immediate economic development impact fee — providing an upfront investment in the community, right from the start.
• $500,000 annually through 2065 — offering ongoing, dependable support that keeps giving back year after year.

Yes. We prioritize hiring local contractors and trades throughout construction. Once operational, the campus creates full-time, permanent positions with competitive pay and benefits, including:

• Data center managers
• Systems/network administrators
• Computer repair technicians
• Maintenance technicians
• Electrical and mechanical facility operations
• Contract support services, such as security, catering, and groundskeeping

We are committed to building with local talent and creating meaningful career opportunities across Northwest Indiana. We work closely with general contractors and regional labor organizations to ensure local tradespeople are at the forefront of constructing our Michigan City site.

We partner with and hire from regional union halls across key construction and specialized trades, including:

• Local 2950
• Local 20
• Local 395 & 292
• Local 1118
• Local 210 Plumbers
• Local 669 Fire Suppression
• Local 4 Bricklayers
• Local 1165 Glaziers
• Local 1485 Carpenters
• IBEW Local 531 Electricians

A garden hose uses water once and lets it go — down the drain, into the ground, gone. That's what a lot of people picture when they hear “water cooling.”

A closed-loop system works more like a car's radiator. The same water (or coolant) circulates through the system over and over, moving heat away from the engine and releasing it into the air, then cycling through again. It's not constantly pulling in new water and dumping used water out — it's reusing the same supply in a continuous loop.

Google covers 100% of the cost for every water and wastewater infrastructure upgrade required to serve our campus. We will not pass that financial burden to local residents and families, ensuring community utility rates remain unaffected.

Google is partnering with The Nature Conservancy to incentivize the adoption of cover crops as a water quality best management practice. Administered through the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the USDA Risk Management Agency, this program offers crop insurance premium discounts to eligible growers in the Maumee, Upper Wabash, and Lake Michigan watersheds to improve soil health and support a stronger water ecosystem.

Google engineers stormwater management systems in partnership with civil engineering firm EMH&T. The plan features a brand-new subgrade drainage system and a localized retention pond to capture and safely manage all runoff on-site.

We conduct thorough environmental evaluations prior to construction. If any protected species are identified on-site, Google implements comprehensive avoidance and mitigation strategies in full compliance with state and federal laws.

We build transparency and accountability into how we operate. Google works closely with regulatory bodies like the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to enforce water discharge and usage standards, and once our data center is operational, we publish detailed annual water usage metrics in our Environmental Reports.

Living near a data center is no different than living near a standard commercial office building. Facilities are built with electrical shielding and heavy structural containment so electromagnetic fields (EMFs) do not extend beyond the building footprint.

Our facility and engineering designs strictly adhere to local noise codes, maintaining sound levels at 60-65 decibels (dBA) at the property line — roughly equivalent to living next to an office building.

While temporary traffic is expected during construction, our data center will generate minimal daily traffic once open and operational, maintaining normal local traffic flows.

We buy energy from NIPSCO, just like every home here in Michigan City. We pay our own way. That means Google pays 100% of the cost for the power we use, every single month. We also pay for any new infrastructure or upgrades required to serve us.

Here’s the good part: Many of these upgrades add extra capacity that stays with the community. It also means communities finally have the resources to modernize old equipment that has historically not been funded to keep costs low for residents.

No. We are always working to bring new energy online, and we look for clean and reliable sources first. If a power emergency occurs, our site gets scaled back just like everyone else, helping keep the grid stable for everyone.

Emergency generators keep vital tools online during severe weather, unexpected outages, or planned maintenance. Because reliability matters beyond our walls, these backups also support essential services people count on during emergencies, like hospital systems and first responder communications.

To minimize emissions, these generators are strictly for emergency backup and do not run continuously. Our on-site emergency response teams work to minimize time spent on generator systems as much as possible. We test each generator briefly each month — typically for 30 minutes or less — to ensure readiness. Their run times and emissions limits are strictly regulated and monitored by IDEM and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).