Data centers are focus of Monday meeting with Hobart mayor

Chicago Tribune

10-07-2025

Hobart Mayor Josh Huddleston is hosting an informational meeting on data centers and their impact on the city from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Hobart Community Center, 111 E. Old Ridge Road near Festival Park.
Two data centers are under probable consideration by city leaders. Both are south of 61st Avenue and east of Colorado Street.
'There's a lot of misinformation about data centers that's out there that people have kind of latched onto… people say something on social media and run with it. I want to clear the air,' said Huddleston, who said he's visited data centers and talked to people in Virginia, the data center capital of the world with about 300 centers.
'I think it will be good, I think it will be educational,' said Huddleston. 'My goal is to tell how we got there.'
Huddleston said he wants residents to understand why data centers represent an economic driver as more Americans consume streaming media and rely on smartphones, as well as the rise of artificial intelligence. He cited Loudoun County, Virginia, as having one of the lowest tax rates but among the richest in the country.
'Every development we've ever had in the city has had pushback from citizens,' Huddleston said, citing the senior housing complex on South Lake Park Road and Joan Martin Elementary as examples.
Data center opponents voiced concerns about the environmental impact, citing their need for a large volume of water and the noise they create. They launched a No Re-Zone social media site to detail concerns.
In Porter County, a handful of communities, including Burns Harbor, Chesterton and Valparaiso, have fought back against data center plans for the same reasons. A proposal is now pending in unincorporated Union Township before county officials. The location is near the Union Township schools.
Neither data center has gained city approval yet, although the City Council did approve the rezone of a 168-acre parcel proposed by Hobart Devco LLC. It plans to build a six-building complex for its servers.
The company lists itself as a foreign limited liability company, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, on the Indiana Secretary of State's website.
Its plans also call for 450,000 yards of outdoor equipment, six small support buildings and an 11-acre detention pond.
Hobart Devco said it would build a landscape berm and fence to shield the data center from its neighbors.
While the rezone gained approval earlier this year, the city still needs to approve site plans, which have not been submitted yet, according to Huddleston.
Meanwhile, Wylie Capital, a real estate developer that builds data centers, seeks rezoning for 400 acres on 61st Avenue, east of Colorado and north of 69th Avenue.
The rezone petition, from R-3 to M-1, will be heard at the Plan Commission's Aug. 7 meeting.
Earlier, residents opposed a proposed warehouse facility on the Devco data center site, saying it would trigger too much truck traffic. The city turned down the rezone request.
To manage time, Huddleston asked for questions to be submitted by 9 a.m. Monday at this link:
https://forms.gle/gbRmXEybajFXbZBz6
'Often things get railroaded, I want to keep it focused,' Huddleston said of the submitted questions. 'I want people to have legitimate questions.'