9-13-2025 9:47pm

Saline Township Rejects Proposed Data Center Project

Libby Williams Contributor

Saline Township, MI — A plan to transform more than 500 acres of farmland into a state-of-the-art data center campus has been rejected by The Saline Township board. The project has drawn both excitement and concern among local residents, as developer Related Digital sought to rezone the agricultural land to industrial; without which the center cannot be built.

Related Digital, the infrastructure arm of Related Companies, was proposing a 575-acre digital campus north of U.S. 12 and east of Braun Road that would’ve included three data halls, a generator facility, warehouse, and administrative offices. Each data hall would span roughly 540,000 square feet, making the site one of the largest data center projects in Michigan.

Promises of Jobs and Revenue

Supporters reiterated the development would bring long-term benefits to Saline Township and the wider Washtenaw County area. Related Digital pledged:

• 150 permanent jobs in operations and technology support.

• Hundreds of temporary construction jobs during build-out.

• Millions in new tax revenue to local schools and county services.

• A $3 million contribution toward community infrastructure upgrades, including enhanced fire and emergency response capabilities.

“This is an opportunity to place Saline at the center of the digital economy,” one supporter said at a recent planning commission meeting. “We’re talking about good-paying jobs and funding for our schools.”

Concerns Over Scale and Impact

Many residents were worried the project was simply too big for the township.

“We’re a rural community,” one nearby resident argued. “Once this farmland is gone, it’s gone forever. And we’ll be left with the noise, the traffic, and the risk to our water.”

Key concerns included:

• Traffic increases from construction vehicles and long-term operations.

• Stormwater runoff and flooding from paving over farmland.

• Noise pollution from backup generators.

• Energy demand, with some questioning whether DTE and ITC can provide the reliable power the site requires.

"We are not using evaporating cooling. We will not be using a lot of water," said Brent Behrman, CEO of Related Digital.

Broader Strategy

The Saline campus is part of Related Digital’s larger push to build next-generation data centers across North America, with similar projects planned in Chicago, Missouri, Wyoming, and Ontario. The company has committed to using clean energy partnerships and low-water cooling technology to lessen the environmental impact.

Company representatives say the Michigan location is strategic because of its proximity to Ann Arbor’s technology and research corridor, including the University of Michigan.

What’s Next

In an open letter to The Saline Post, the owners of the property, Amy Marr and John Feldkamp stated, “If the land is not rezoned, we’ll explore other development options. Under the current A-1 zoning, a utility-scale solar farm or several hundred housing units could be placed on the property. Either of those would cause much more stress on infrastructure and the natural environment. They would permanently alter the fabric of that part of Saline Township, and generate just a small fraction of the long-term tax revenues that the Township, the County, and the School District will see from a data center.”

The Saline Township Planning Commission tabled the rezoning request in August after hearing several hours of public comment, delaying a decision until September. On Wednesday the matter was voted 4-1 against rezoning the farmland.