Sunday, November 10, 2024

15 Finds Out: Neighbor resentment grows as Google builds new data center

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — As construction continues on Google’s massive $2 billion data center, two neighbors – one near, one next door – hoped someone would listen to, and possibly fix, their plight.

“My house, as of now, it’s worthless,” said Chuck Itt, whose property on Tillman Road, the southern boundary of the Google campus, is surrounded to the east, west and north by his new neighbor.

“Do I sell it now and hopefully somebody dumb will buy it? Or do I hang on to it and wait for Google to maybe buy me out in five years?” he asked.

Stephanie Tippmann, who lives with her husband about a mile from the campus, agreed selling their rolling horse farm would be tough.

“Unless some sort of Google executive wants to buy a home.”

It’s hard to imagine the size of the 880-acre project, which is roughly three times bigger than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Published reports list the IMS oval at 253 acres, with 320 acres listed as the original land, without the golf course.)

Tippmann resents her docile farm life is interrupted by early morning construction sounds and lights. Tippmann lives northeast of the now-closed section of Paulding Road, which is where the first buildings will go up.

“I love our barn. I love the property. We’re situated in a really great spot. It makes me sad,” she said.

A drawing of development plans for Google’s data center, first known as Project Zodiac. (North is to the left.)

While the campus goes past Paulding to the north, it stretches south to Tillman Road, between Adams Center Road on the west and the G&W railroad tracks to the east. According to early project renderings, about 30 homes inside the roads back up to the property, which Itt finds stupefying.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” he began. “We’re little tiny specks on their map. They’re more or less telling us that we didn’t matter, to heck with you, we’re coming in and you’re on your own.”

Although the construction immediately near him is not expected to begin for several years, Itt found the plan for a 10 feet berm topped with 10 feet trees to be woefully insufficient to preserve his natural surroundings.

“The buildings are 50 to 75 foot tall,” he pointed out, adding the efforts won’t dampen the expected noise, either.

He said at the informational meetings with neighbors, officials compared the data center sound to a car engine idling outside a closed window.

“But this is going to be 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Who wants that?”

Another neighbor emailed WANE 15 after a story in May explained how developers worked quickly and quietly to bring Google to the area, calling the report disgusting.

“Congratulating these deceitful officials for secretly acquiring 800+ acres of rural land and farms that feed families, cutting down trees that house birds, wildlife, deer and forever decimate the natural resources here is disgraceful. 

“Shame on you for not inviting us, the residents who were lied to.  We have to live with the traffic, the security drones, and the light and noise pollution 24/7 for the rest of our lives. Google got put in our backyard and none of those four people asked us!”

A WANE 15 request for the neighbor to appear on camera was never returned.

A Google spokesman said neighbors could contact the company at fortwaynedatacenter@google.com. WANE 15 received email confirmation that the account was monitored.

Google also said phone numbers were posted at the entrance of the property. However, a reporter for WANE 15 found no phone numbers and was told by a site manager they were on the website of the contractor, Holder Construction.

They list their general inquiry number as 877.570.1133.

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