Area economic development officials learned Microsoft moved on from a proposed 350-acre site along state Route 65 between Breese and Hume Roads in Perry Township.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
PERRY TOWNSHIP — Microsoft is no longer interested in building an expansive data center in Perry Township, officials learned this week.
Cindy Leis, president and CEO of Allen Economic Development Group, delivered the news to township residents and officials Tuesday evening after learning herself during a regular Monday meeting with Microsoft brass.
“The Microsoft project team’s top three representatives indicated that their boss’s boss, in upper management at Microsoft, made some internal analysis on all the sites being considered,” Leis said Wednesday. “The one in Perry Township didn’t make the cut.”
Microsoft announced in August it was the company behind a proposal for a data center in up to six buildings on 350 acres in Perry Township, along state Route 65 between Breese and Hume roads.
“After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided not to pursue the site on Breese Road,” a Microsoft spokesperson said via email. “We appreciate the community’s engagement as we navigated our decision-making process.”
Last month, company officials met with residents to address their concerns about electric, water and township road usage.
Leis and Kevin Cox, a Perry Township trustee, said they thought that the open house successfully alleviated many residents’ concerns.
“They didn’t give any explanation. They just chose not to do it here,” Cox said. “… It’s nothing we did, nothing anyone’s done that I know of. That’s what they said. They just chose a different site than this.”
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans to build on a site in Licking County near Columbus. Leis wasn’t sure if that “played into what Microsoft had planned for Ohio development,” she said.
Perry Township already updated its zoning rules to allow data centers in areas zoned “I-2.” It had a public hearing Tuesday night about rezoning two agricultural properties near the site to I-2, and that decision could be made at a zoning hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29.
“(Microsoft) indicated that our local team did everything we were supposed to do,” Leis said. “They felt the community was very receptive, particularly after the community event in September. We felt the zoning board and township trustees were supportive. They all really rallied around the idea of a data center in Perry Township.”
With the zoning change and lessons learned in pursuit of Microsoft, the area remains prime for a data center in the future, Leis said. When Microsoft had options on the land, AEDG couldn’t talk to other companies over the past eight months. Now, other data-center suitors can call.
“That site is in a better position today than it was 18 years ago when Microsoft started looking at that site,” Leis said. “We’ve been through our own due diligence, looking at the utilities and with road improvement ideas. The sentiment in Perry Township turned in a more positive direction in that area.”
In its August post, Microsoft acknowledged the benefits of Perry Township.
“Several factors attracted Microsoft to Perry Township and the Lima region, including customer demand, the availability of suitable land, access to power and fiber optics, a quality workforce and supportive local partners,” Microsoft shared in an August website post.
Cox said he remained open to bringing a different data center project to Perry Township.
“I always had an open mind,” he said. “I tried to listen to what they had to say would be the best fit for this community. This is strictly my opinion, but I think it was a good fit.”
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
