Karis Critical, which also developed a data center in Dekalb, Illinois, has approached Merrillville about building a data center campus with nine buildings, each costing $100 million. It’s eying a 180-acre site on 101st Avenue east of Deep River.

The Merrillville Town Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve zoning that would allow a data center to be built at the site.

Town spokesman Chas Reilly said the project could create up to 270 jobs. Karis is working to make sure it can get enough power from NIPSCO.

Merrillville’s new Data Center Citizen Advisory Committee endorsed the idea of a data center campus on 101st Avenue. The committee includes nine residents, development professionals and town officials.

They discussed issues like economic benefits, jobs, noise, safety, power consumption and backup generators.

“I am extremely pleased with the turnout and the level of engagement from our citizens at our initial meeting,” Town Council President Rick Bella said in a news release issued before Tuesday’s council meeting. “The preparation and thoughtful participation they brought to the discussion were invaluable. We addressed many of the common concerns and misconceptions surrounding data centers, and it became evident that many of these fears have already been mitigated through the advancements in modern data center design.”

Karis is developing the data center but will not operate it, Reilly said. Once it gets approval, it will look to sign an end user or users.

“We are so thankful for the Town of Merrillville allowing us to participate in this advisory committee — it is very rare for a town to show this level of passion and engagement in the process, and we are so excited to continue moving this transformative project forward,” said Brett Rogers, Karis CIO and head of data centers, in the town’s news release. “It is a testament to what makes Merrillville a leader in Northwest Indiana. We are optimistic that we can solve the power story on this project in the near term to really unlock a promising development in Merrillville — especially given our site’s existing infrastructure.”

Council member Shawn Pettit linked the project to major developments like AmeriPlex at the Crossroads and the Silos at Sanders Farm. 

“I’m very excited with the investment,” Pettit said in the news release. “It’s a low impact/high reward development for the Town of Merrillville. It will also create job opportunities for the Merrillville residents, which is always a priority for myself and the rest of the Town Council.”

He said that the project was in the early stages and the big issue would be ensuring that NIPSCO could provide enough power to the site. The existing transmission lines can service the first two buildings but more transmission lines will have to be extended to build all nine buildings and Karis will have to pay $500,000 for an infrastructure study.

It’s estimated the project could generate up to $9 million in property tax revenue while having a minimal impact on town services.

“Once again, the Town of Merrillville and our governmental leaders played host to a diverse group of concerned citizens, developers, educators, industry professionals and planners — as well as business owners, and our police and fire protection professionals — to help chart another path forward for our town in one of the fastest growing industries: information storage,” Plan Commission member Brian Dering said in the town’s news release. “In the 21st century, data centers have shown immense growth and investment in other parts of the country and have proven to be good neighbors to their communities. Now, Merrillville has the opportunity to lead the way forward by adding this valuable resource here in Northwest Indiana.”

Amid a surge in artificial intelligence and other data consumption, tech companies have proposed pouring billions into data centers in Indiana, which has one of the most favorable tax policies for such facilities in the country. Data centers are planned in LaPorte, New Carlisle and Fort Wayne.

Chesterton nixed a data center project at a former golf course after residents raised concerns.