Council to vote on rezoning 640 acres for Razor5's possible data center near New Carlisle

Joseph Dits, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read
This map shows the area, marked with crosshatches, that would be rezoned from agricultural to industrial and added to the Indiana Enterprise Center near New Carlisle. It is just east of the Navistar Proving Grounds' oval track.
This map shows the area, marked with crosshatches, that would be rezoned from agricultural to industrial and added to the Indiana Enterprise Center near New Carlisle. It is just east of the Navistar Proving Grounds' oval track.

NEW CARLISLE — The St. Joseph County Council will vote March 12 on rezoning 640 acres of agricultural land near New Carlisle for industrial use and adding it to the Indiana Enterprise Center — land that the secretive firm Razor5, LLC is considering for a possible, massive data center.

Bill Schalliol, the county’s executive director of economic development, said that there are actually “a couple of prospects” to develop the land. He said there are other developers who’ve shown interest if a deal with Razor5 doesn’t work out.

As The Tribune has reported, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google and Meta have been building such data centers across the country, including in the Midwest. AWS officials have reportedly been seen around St. Joseph County in recent months to gather information. But an AWS spokeswoman refused to either confirm or deny whether the company plans to build a data center here.

Jan. 13, 2024: Tribune exclusive: Is Amazon affiliated with multibillion secret project near South Bend?

The land is at the southwest corner of Indiana 2 and Strawberry Road, which puts it directly east of the Navistar Proving Grounds and nearly a half mile east of Bendix Woods County Park.

The parcel also runs south to Gordon Road. It’s one of two parcels around the IEC that Razor5 is considering.

This 640-acre parcel is owned by the Sebasty farming family, who’d previously offered other nearby land for development in the IEC. Work has begun on the electric vehicle battery plant that General Motors is developing with Samsung SDI.

Along with concerns over how industrial growth will affect New Carlisle’s rural and small-town nature, critics have raised concerns with county officials about the large draw on groundwater that such a data center would have.

Nov. 10, 2023: Another major industrial development sought for New Carlisle near GM/Samsung site

The council will vote March 12 on measures to rezone the land to industrial and add it to the IEC overlay district, which sets standards for large-scale developments like the electric vehicle battery plant that are on the way.

In this map, the southernmost quadrant would be added to the Indiana Enterprise Center near New Carlisle in a proposal coming to the St. Joseph County Council. The addition is just east of the Navistar Proving Grounds' oval track.
In this map, the southernmost quadrant would be added to the Indiana Enterprise Center near New Carlisle in a proposal coming to the St. Joseph County Council. The addition is just east of the Navistar Proving Grounds' oval track.

By being included in the IEC overlay district, developers would have to meet a set of standards not normally found in industrial parcels, including landscaping, architecture and even the position of buildings. County officials said recently that they are still refining parts of those standards.

The county’s Area Plan Commission has already voted to support the rezoning and adding the land to the IEC overlay district.

The county council will vote on the measures when it meets at 6 p.m. March 12 on the fourth floor of the County-City Building.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Council vote on rezoning New Carlisle farmland for Razor5 data center