LOWELL, Mich. — The City of Lowell, for the time being, is no longer playing a role in the development a potential data center in Lowell Township.
In a statement posted to its website and Facebook page on Friday, the city said it was "suspending its participation."
"If and when the prospective tenant comes forward and provides specific details about what they are asking for in terms of water and wastewater use, the city would be open in reengaging in this project," the city said.
The announcement comes days after neighbors in the area packed the Lowell Township hall for a public hearing on the potential development, surpassing the building's capacity and forcing the meeting to be postponed to a later date at a larger venue.
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If approved, the data center would be located at Covenant Business Park in Lowell Township, which holds water and wastewater agreements with the City of Lowell.
In an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday, Lowell City Manager Mike Burns said that, regardless of whether a data center is built and allowed to do business in the area, the city needs to expand its water plant.
"No matter what situation we have, we have to upgrade this facility," said Burns, detailing a desire to increase the plant's capacity from 1.5 million gallons of water a day to 3 million gallons of water a day.
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During the interview, Burns also said the developer of the business park, based on a preliminary estimate, believed the data center would likely use around 30,000 gallons of water a day, which would amount to one-percent of what would be the plant's expanded capacity.
"I have seen no indication that makes me believe there's going to be any issues with providing water to the community," Burns said at the time, citing a recent city study.
On Friday evening, the City of Lowell, through a representative, declined to comment further on its announcement.
The public hearing for a rezoning that will allow the data center to be built at Covenant Business Park has been rescheduled for Monday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Lowell High School Performing Arts Center.
