Plans for a large data center have cleared their first hurdle in the town of Merrillville. Karis Critical wants to build up to nine 100-million-dollar buildings on almost 180 acres on 101st Avenue, east of Deep River.
Now, the town says a new Data Center Citizen Advisory Committee has given its support to the project. The project will also need a zoning change and power authorization from NIPSCO to move forward.
In a statement, town council member Shawn Pettit called it a "low impact/high reward development," adding that it would create job opportunities for Merrillville residents.
Plan commission member Brian Dering says that each building in the data center campus could bring in a million dollars a year in property tax revenue.
The town announced the creation of the advisory committee last month, after at least four data center developers expressed interest in Merrillville. At the time, Council President Rick Bella noted that large industrial data centers could use as much electricity as a small town.
