Delhi Township terminates partnership with LEAP day after data center announcement
A day after Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) leaders introduced a community-forward $10 billion, 700-megawatt data center plan for Delhi Township, the township announced that it had withdrawn from the economic development group.
During a press conference on Tuesday, LEAP President and CEO Bob Trezise sat down with the heads of Lighthouse Sustainability, Gary Dorris and Paul Saferstein, to outline the new approach. Lighthouse Sustainability is a data center development group focused on “environmental stewardship, energy affordability and community benefit.”
Instead of approaching the township’s board of trustees, the typical first step, LEAP wanted to present the plan to the Delhi Township residents and gather input. The organization had its eyes set on Holt Economic Opportunity Park, a 423-acre site off of College Road, as the location for the data center.
Delhi Township currently has a 12-month moratorium on data center development, which is set to expire in April 2027. According to LEAP’s Trezise, that would give the group plenty of time to gather resident input.
The site is surrounded by housing complexes as well as manufacturing like RSDC of Michigan and Pratt & Whitney. The property is not zoned for industrial use. A rezoning application would need be submitted if Delhi Township residents wanted to move forward with the plan.
LEAP had not named a potential end user, but Trezise said companies are interested. Trezise stressed that a project was not yet planned and an end user had not been identified.
As resident input is integral to the process, LEAP planned to host weekly webinars to directly hear from residents, with one planned for Tuesday evening.
Objections on social media started almost immediately following the announcement.
One day after the announcement, Delhi Township officials cut ties with LEAP.
“Effective immediately, Delhi Township is ending our membership with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership,” spokesperson Tracy Miller said in a statement. “This decision reflects our Township’s commitment to putting our residents first, protecting local interests and ensuring we are always guided by what’s in the best interests of our community.”
LEAP’s initial announcement launched backlash from township officials almost immediately. Miller issued a statement that detailed a lack of communication between the township, LEAP and Lighthouse Sustainability.
“The Township is learning about the LEAP/Lighthouse Sustainability announcement at the same time as members of the media. Township Board members have not received any kind of land use application or proposal from a data center developer,” Miller said.
“To be very clear, this topic has not been discussed at Township Board meeting … The LEAP/Lighthouse effort is independent from the Delhi Township Board, Planning Commission or administration and the Township was not at all aware of this announcement before receiving a press release on Tuesday.”
Eddie Montemayor is the township’s supervisor and sits on LEAP’s board of directors. He did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, a LEAP spokesperson said announcing the proposal to the public first was intentional and aimed at avoiding putting officials in “an untenable position” of pitching it to residents.
“It is a proposal deserving of thoughtful consideration by the public and it deserved to be presented to the community for their awareness. And it is exactly what critics of recent large economic development projects have demanded. LEAP is proud to be setting that new standard. ”
The data center proposal boasted huge local government benefits. If the project is completed, it would more than triple the township’s tax revenue, from $23 million a year to $76 million annually. Lighthouse proposed a $20 million community fund, and the project would add an estimated $16 million a year to Holt and Mason public schools.
It is one of several major data centers project proposed in the area in the last year.
A pitch from the U.K.-based Deep Green to build a 24-megawatt data center in downtown Lansing fell flat after local backlash. A proposal from Ohio-based Comino Development to build a data center in Vevay Township is under consideration by the State Boundary Commission after a group of township property owners requested to annex the 400-acre site to the city of Mason make the project happen.
