Second rezoning proposal advances for data center project near Monrovia

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Plans for another data center, this time in Morgan County, has neighbors there gearing up for a fight.

On Monday night, dozens gathered in protest outside of a special meeting of the Morgan County Plan Commission to consider rezoning 158 acres of land near Monrovia to build a new data center. Plan commissioners in February approved 390 acres for the same project, and, on Monday night, voted 5-2 to move the new rezoning plan forward to the county commissioners.

The developer of the project remains a mystery.

Still, many neighbors are worried it will mean higher utility costs, lower property values, and limited curb appeal.

One of the protesters, Christopher Lamberson, told News 8, “We think data centers are bad business for Indiana, by how … exploitative they are. So yeah, we don’t want them here.”

A week ago, for a similar effort in Marion County’s Franklin Township, Google pulled out of its $1 billion data center proposal as the Indianapolis City-County Council faced intense community opposition. The same attorney in that effort was on the case in Morgan County on Monday night, defending the need.

Attorney Joe Calderon said during the meeting at the Morgan County Judicial Campus in Martinsville, “A data center really is reflective of everything that we do today with our devices … whether its our laptops, our phones, video, etc.”

The Morgan County Commissioners will take up the rezoning proposal at 9:30 a.m. Oct 6 at the Judicial Campus.

• Watch the Sept. 29, 2025, special meeting of the Morgan County Plan Commission

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