Shelbyville Common Council approves annexation, rezoning of land for proposed data center campus

The annexation and rezoning of a large parcel of land targeted for a data center campus was approved Monday by the Shelbyville Common Council.

Prologis has announced a $2 billion investment in the City of Shelbyville just east of Interstate 74 along State Road 44. The first step for the project was to annex nearly 430 acres into city limits and have the parcel rezoned from Agriculture to General Industrial.

The site and its eventual build out have been a point of contention for thousands of residents opposed to a data center.

Monday’s common council meeting was moved to Breck Auditorium at Shelbyville High School to accommodate a large and vocal crowd in attendance.

Prior to the vote, presentations were given by third party consultants Banning Engineering and Bose, McKinney & Evans to review the site and the legality of the annexation and rezoning.

The presentation included contract details that state the data center campus will generate $500 million in additional taxes for the city over a 20-year span.

The vote on the annexation and rezoning, an economic and development agreement with Prologis, and a fiscal plan association with the annexation fell the same on all three occasions – 4-2-1.

Councilwoman Betsy Means Davis and councilman Thurman Adams were the dissenting votes. Councilman Denny Harrold abstained from voting because the law firm he works for represented the petitioner for the annexation.

The common council vote went against an unfavorable recommendation of the annexation and rezoning by the Shelbyville Plan Commission.

Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson declined comment Tuesday morning on the council vote. He did state that updates were planned on the project to get a better sense of the timeline and reaffirmed there are still several hurdles to overcome before construction can begin.

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.